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Olentangy Orange 60, Hilliard Darby 48 - Prospect Scouting Report

By Jake Spegal, 12/14/21, 11:15PM EST

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Pioneers jump out to an early lead and never look back in road win

HILLIARD, Ohio -- In one of the more intriguing games on the schedule on Tuesday night, Olentangy Orange jumped out to a quick lead and never looked back in a 60-48 road win over Hilliard Darby.

Despite missing a key player in junior guard Elias Lewis, the Pioneers came out of the gates firing and quickly jumped out to an 18-6 lead after one.

Led by senior guard Gio Roberts, Hilliard Darby showed a ton of fight in the second quarter.

After Olentangy Orange increased their lead to 22-6 early in the second, the Panthers pieced together a 14-2 run to trim the deficit to just 24-20 late in the frame.

Responding and ending the half on a good note, the Pioneers outscored Darby 10-5 the rest of the frame to head into the locker room ahead 34-25 at the break.

After a back-and-forth third quarter found Olentangy Orange ahead 45-32 heading into the final quarter, Darby scored a quick five points to begin the frame and forced a Pioneer timeout trailing just 45-37 with 6:33 to go.

Failing to sustain this momentum, the Panthers chances to win became very slim when Olentangy Orange responded with a 7-0 run out of the timeout to go ahead by 15 points with just 3:47 to go.

While Darby hit a few shots late, Olentangy Orange's consistency at the line the entire game held true late as they sealed the game at the stripe to pick up a solid win on the road.

Leading all scorers with 20 points, Roberts turned in an impressive showing for Darby in the loss. Both Sech and Cam Gilkerson each added 10 points for the Panthers as well.

In an all-around team effort, Olentangy Orange was led by 12 points from Joel Addo while Mikey McCollum, Aidan King and Jack Taylor each added nine of their own. 

Mike McCollum (6'3 G / Olentangy Orange / 2023): We were impressed with the performance that McCollum turned in tonight in the absence of Elias Lewis. Going for nine points and dropping a handful of pretty dimes, the junior guard did a great job of creating offense for Olentangy Orange throughout the contest. McCollum plays with a good pace, does not get sped up and has good size at the guard spot. He showed off his ability to finish with his left hand on a tough driving score tonight and also showcased his perimeter stroke by hitting a three off the catch. We like the way that the junior operates at the guard spot and are excited to see how he continues to improve as he seems to have added some height recently as well.

Gio Roberts (6'2 G / Hilliard Darby / 2022): Roberts was extremely impressive for Hilliard Darby on Tuesday night. The senior scored it in a variety of ways and was efficient from the field on his way to a 20 point showing. Roberts nailed a pair of three's in the contest, one of which was a few steps beyond the arc, and also got inside and showcased his ability to finish at the rim consistently. We liked how he operated within the Panther offense as he scored on a backdoor cut and did a good job of getting himself open on multiple occasions. Roberts is an intriguing prospect for small schools to keep an eye on as he can score it from the wing and is averaging over 14 points a night early on in the season.

Joel Addo (6'3 WF / Olentangy Orange / 2022): Addo provided Olentangy Orange with a scoring boost when they needed it on Tuesday, scoring all 12 of his points in the second quarter to provide the Pioneers with a big boost. The 6-foot-3 senior hit a triple, had a few easy finishes inside and also converted an and-one on a putback to go along with being active on the glass all night. Addo seems to play with a high motor every time that we watch him and that is something that we always appreciate about players.

Jack Taylor (6'4 G / Olentangy Orange / 2022): Taylor is a player that we want to spotlight for his effort on the defensive end on Tuesday night. The senior guard came up with some big plays for the Pioneers when they needed them, defending hard and forcing several turnovers that led to easy scores. Taylor had two steals leading to layups, knocked down a three off the catch and also had a second chance score in the contest to go along with being an active defensive presence for Olentangy Orange. Taylor gave the Pioneers a big spark on Tuesday with his energy and effort, forcing Hilliard Darby into a handful of turnovers and doing a great job of playing his role.

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