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Regional Champs: Olentangy Liberty blows past Pickerington North into the state tournament

By Zach Fleer, 03/16/19, 4:30PM EDT

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COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Give me Liberty or give me death. On Saturday in the Division I regional finals against Pickerington North (23-5), Olentangy Liberty stayed alive in its march for a state title.

Surviving a disastrous start and taking control in the third quarter, Liberty won its first regional title in school history with a 64-58 victory over the Panthers.

Despite falling behind 8-0 in the first three and a half minutes, Liberty kept its composure and the game changed when sophomore Henry Hinkle entered off the bench. Going into the second quarter trailing 17-11, Liberty opened up with a 10-0 run on the back of Hinkle, taking a 21-17 lead with 6:12 to go in the half.

Battling back and forth the rest of the way, Pickerington North kept its lead thanks to Jack Sawyer and Chris Scott, heading into the break with a 27-25 advantage.

In the second half, Liberty meant business, as senior Nick Nakasian drained a three 15 seconds into the third quarter to take the lead. 

Nakasian and fellow senior Ben Roderick took turns fueling a 5-0 run in the early stages of the third quarter, as a strong finish from Nakasian opened up Liberty's lead to 35-30 with 5:28 to go in the half. 

Despite trimming the lead to 41-40 with 1:27 to go in the third, North felt the effects of Hinkle once more. The sophomore guard scored the next six points for the Patriots, as back-to-back Hinkle layups in the fourth quarter put Liberty up 47-42 with 6:44 remaining.

While North trimmed the lead to 47-45 on its next trip down, Nakasian and Roderick once again provided a small surge for Liberty, as the senior forwards combined for a 6-0 run which put the Patriots ahead 53-45 with 4:55 to go.

North never got any closer than four points the rest of the way, as untimely struggles at the free-throw line in the final two minutes of the game halted any type of rally for the Panthers.

After missing two potential game-winning free throws with under a second remaining in Liberty's regional semifinal overtime win over Pickerington Central, Hinkle redeemed himself and then some, going 4-for-4 in crunch time to help the Patriots close out the game in the final 30 seconds. 

Advancing to its first state tournament in its program's history, Liberty completed the improbably by sweeping both powerful Pickerington programs in a span of three days. The Patriots advance to take on the winner of Lima Senior and Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary on Friday at Value City Arena.

Roderick led the way with 21 points and three rebounds. The 6-foot-5 forward was met with quality on-ball defense from the Panthers but still continued to produce, as his ability to finish strong at the rim was key late in the game. The top unsigned senior in Ohio, Roderick's steal and one hand slam with 3:34 remaining stretched Liberty's biggest lead to 11 points and seemed to close the door on North.

Hinkle was the MVP off the bench for the Patriots, coming in the game and scoring 14 points to go along with three assists and two steals. While Liberty struggled with North's tight on-ball pressure in the early stages of the game, Hinkle came in and provided the Patriots with a steady ball handler who the Panthers could not seem to speed up.

The glue guy for the Patriots, Nakasian played a very confident game, finishing with 15 points and showcasing stellar finishing ability against tight pressure. The Carnegie Mellon commit, who dominated North in its regular season meeting, picked up where he left off in Saturday's performance.

Fellow senior Mitch Kershner rounded out the Liberty scoring with eight points and seven rebounds as the third part of a Patriot trio that has seen big time minutes for the last three years. 

For North, Scott led the way with 21 points and three steals. The 6-foot-4 junior did a great job finishing at the rim through contact. Sawyer had a strong showing with 18 points, knocking down two threes. Liberty was intent on forcing Sawyer out of the paint, which the Patriots did a solid job of in the second half.

No other North player had more than seven points, as regional semifinal hero Hunter Shedenehelm was held to three points. Shedenhelm was tasked with defending Roderick in the first half, and while he did a stellar job, the junior seemed to exert a significant amount of energy which ended up affecting his offensive performance down the stretch.

Falling one win short of the state tournament for the second time in three years, North has a lot to be excited about as the Panthers will return five of the eight players who logged minutes on Saturday, including studs Sawyer, Scott and Shedenhelm. 

For Liberty, the Patriots ride the Ohio Gatorade Player of the Year Roderick into its first state tournament ever. A team consisting of seniors who have played together for nearly a decade, Liberty is two wins away from completing the storybook finish. 

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