WORTHINGTON, Ohio -- Worthington Christian (11-4) and Grandview Heights (11-5) each entered their huge Saturday night contest looking for a statement win to add not only to their chances in the MSL-Ohio title race, but also on their tournament resume. In a game between two teams vying for position for the conference championship hunt, the stakes were undoubtedly high, and the raucous fans in the stands and high-level college talent on the court only added to the anticipation.

While it appeared for a moment that Grandview Heights and their veteran senior duo of Brian Collier and Luke Lachey could match up against the athleticism and scoring of the Warriors, sophomore DJ Moore was led his Worthington Christian squad to a decisive 48-30 victory with a strong second half push. 

Despite a slow offensive start with just one basket by either team through over three minutes of the first quarter, a Lachey three broke the scoring open and put his Grandview Heights team ahead early.

While Worthington Christian would respond with back-to-back points off of turnovers, consecutive threes by the Bobcats including one by  Collier put Grandview Heights back in the lead.

However, efficient outside shooting from the Warriors that included two made threes by Derrick Hardin and another by the standout Moore allowed Worthington Christian to go ahead 17-11 after one. 

Worthington Christian began to set the tone with their strong defensive play throughout the second quarter. While a third made three by Collier made it a two-point game momentarily early on in the period, Worthington Christian went on to score the final eight points of the half as Grandview Heights could not get anything to fall. The Warriors increased their lead to double-digits just before the end of the half and took a 25-15 advantage into the break. 

The beginning of the second half proved to be all Worthington Christian as they went on another 8-0 scoring run to open the third quarter on consecutive threes by Moore and junior Kobe Buford.

While senior Darrion Davis stopped the bleeding momentarily with a made three for Grandview Heights, two more triples by Moore allowed the Warriors to lead comfortably down the stretch of the third quarter.

Worthington Christian led by 20 points with under a minute left in the period after a made free throw, but Collier sunk a three as time expired in the third to make it 42-25 heading into the fourth. 

The Warriors steadily maintained their big lead the entirety of the fourth quarter without allowing either of Grandview Heights’ usual suspects to chip into the scoring margin.

Lachey finished a put-back for the first basket of the period to make it a 15-point game, but that is the closest it would get. Moore immediately responded to Lachey’s challenge with a tough and-one finish and conversion, and the Warriors coasted to the finish with their big lead. Worthington Christian held the ball for a large portion of the last three minutes and came away with a huge 48-30 win. 

Grandview Heights couldn't get into any sort of offensive rhythm, as they relied heavily on Collier and Lachey to create their own shot against Worthington Christian’s quick and athletic defense.

Collier led the Bobcats with 14 points that included four made threes, and Lachey followed with 13 points and a three of his own. The entire rest of the Grandview Heights rotation combined for one made basket for three points. They will try to return to their winning ways when they travel to KIPP on Monday for a 7:30 PM tip.

After erasing an early deficit, Worthington Christian controlled the game on both ends for the rest of the way with stingy defense, solid rebounding and unmatched scoring by Moore. Moore led all scorers with 19 points on four made threes and though he never forced the issue, was a reliable and confident isolation scoring option every time he wanted to be.

Tyler Kindberg added 11 points that included a made three, and Derrick Hardin chipped in nine points on two made threes.

After this statement MSL-Ohio win, the Warriors will host 12-2 Centerburg on Tuesday at 7:30 in what should be another great test for this intriguing Worthington Christian team.

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