Cards Lose Tough One Against Westerville South

One of the only bad things about the Ohio High School Basketball Tournament is that only about five teams in the entire state get to end their season with a win. For the rest, the season ends with a loss that brings careers to an end and the sudden realization that you probably won't get to play again with the guys you've been playing with year around since about the sevent grade. If those teammates are also your friends (which they usually are), it's a tough deal.

Unfortunately, Saturday's 42 - 32 loss to Westerville South in the Central District Finals meant the end of a fine season and an end to some fine careers at Worthington. The Cardinals finished with a 19 - 5 record and as district finalist. They certainly have a lot to be proud of.

Seniors graduating from this team are: Taylor Hobbs, Justin Hallowell, Wade Mickey, Kyler Cowgill, Jarrett Cowgill, Casey Jewett, Nidal Abu Kweik, Gavin Banks and Chris Nocar. A fine group of young men who represented themselves, their school, and their families very well throughout their entire careers.

Here is the write up in the Columbus Dispatch about the game:

Westerville South 42Thomas Worthington 32
Dominant defensive effort
Wildcats harass Cardinals into 8-of-35 shooting
Sunday, March 2, 2008 3:12 AM
By Steve Blackledge

THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

Westerville South players celebrate the school's first district title since 1990.


Kirk IrwinDispatch photos
Westerville South's Alex Maze penetrates the Thomas Worthington defense and puts up a shot during a defensive-oriented district final.
It might have been an ugly game for fans, but Westerville South's 42-32 victory over Thomas Worthington yesterday was a defensive masterpiece in the eyes of those who mattered.

Westerville South not only held Thomas Worthington to its lowest point total of the season but induced the tall, talented Cardinals into 8-of-35 shooting (22.9 percent) from the field.

The Wildcats (17-7) won a Division I district final and advance to play second-seeded Dublin Scioto (22-1) in a regional semifinal at 7 p.m. Thursday, also in the Ohio Expo Center Coliseum.

"Sure, both teams struggled offensively, but I can say with certainty that we played very, very well defensively," Wildcats coach Ed Calo said. "We tried to blow up some of their sets and get them out of their comfort zone. … Another of our priorities was to try not to let (Taylor) Hobbs breathe."

Hobbs, the two-time Ohio Capital Conference Central Division player of the year, was limited to a season-low six points on 2-of-12 shooting from the field.

Thomas Worthington coach Bob Miller had no other explanation but to congratulate South on its defensive effort.

"That's a very good defensive team and they certainly gave us problems running our offense," Miller said. "They play an outstanding, swarming, man-to-man defense. Coupled with our defense, which also played very well, it was pretty clear from the outset it was going to be a real dogfight to score."

It was South's first district championship since 1990.

"I knew after we lost (to Newark) in the district championship game last year that this was going to happen this year," Wildcats junior guard Jason Davis said. "We got a taste of it and we all wanted to take it to the next step and make history."

Although the Wildcats graduated their two leading scorers from 2007, returning starter Mike Fletcher said their cohesiveness and depth have paid dividends.

"After we lost four straight (in late December and early January), we started to come together, and a loss at home to Dublin Jerome (Jan. 25) was the turning point because it gave us some resolve," he said.

The game featured seven lead changes and three ties.

Davis made a floater with 2:10 left to put South ahead 37-32, and Traevon Jackson turned a steal into a layup with 1:41 left.

"We've had some great opportunities between 1990 and now but came up just a little short," Calo said. "Although I realize that we've been a little fortunate playing our way through this bracket, I thought we matched up well against those teams and the kids came through."


The boxscore:

Westerville South 42, Thomas Worthington 32

WS: Fletcher 2-2-7, Palumbo 1-0-2, Collins 2-1-6, Maze 1-1-3, Jabbie 1-0-2, Jackson 1-4-6, Wilson 1-0-3, Harrington 2-2-6, Davis 3-0-7. 3-point goals: Fletcher, Davis, Collins, Wilson. Totals: 14-10-42.

TW: Girardi 0-2-2, Easley 1-3-5, Hobbs 2-2-6, Craig 1-2-5, Hallowell 3-0-7, K.Cowgill 0-4-4, Nocar 1-1-3. 3-point goals: Craig, Hallowell. Totals: 8-14-32.

Meet Chris Nocar

Here is a recent interview I did with TWHS Senior Chris Nocar. He wears jersey number 52 and will be playing a significant role for the Cards this Saturday as they take on Westerville South at 3pm at the Fairgrounds Coliseum. Thanks for taking the time, Chris.

Name: Chirs Nocar
Grad Year: Senior(12th)
Position: Center

Jason Savage: What are your favorite sports teams?
Chris Nocar: Columbus Crew and The Ohio State Buckeyes

JS: Do you play any other sports?
CN: Lacrosse in the Spring

JS: What do you like to do in your spare time?
CN: Play Ultimate Frisbee, Frisbee golf, Video Games.. Play basketball or throw the lacrosse ball.

JS: X-box, Wii, or Playstation?
CN: Playstation


JS: What are your plans for next year?
CN: I plan to go to 4 year college to get my bachelors of science in engineering.


JS: Where do you plan on attending school and what would you like to study?
CN: Depending on if I want to play basketball or not...If I do play basketball, I'm looking at Ohio Northern University & Baldwin Wallace. If I don't play basketball, I'll probably attend Ohio University. Regardless, I'll major in Engineering.


JS: Do you have any goals that you set for yourself as a player or the team? Do you want to share any of them?
CN: I have set goals for myself, I wanted to Improve myself specifically in the post this year. I wanted to increase my skills from next to nothing to somewhat benneficial to the team.

JS: Who is the biggest clown on the team?
CN: Taylor Hobbs

JS: Who is the most intense player on the team?
CN: Gaven Banks


JS: What has been your favorite moment this season?
CN: My favorite moment this season was in the Dublin Coffman game, attempting a dunk and getting tackled in order to make me miss.

JS: What has been your favorite moment in your basketball career?
CN: My favorite moment would be making JV my sophomore year after being cut my freshman year.

JS: Who do you look up to on and off the court?
CN: On the court, I look up to Justin Hallowell and Taylor Hobbs, they are the leaders of our teams and are the best examples to follow. If i need some help, they're both willing to fill me in on what needs to happen.
Off the court I look up most to my brother and sister. They are the role models in my life and I know that they make excellent decisions and I can trust them with anything.

JS: What former players, if any, do you remember watching play for Worthington?
CN: I remember 3 players: Marwan Gaines, Kevin Anderson, and JJ Sullinger.

JS: Chris, thanks for taking the time.
CN: No problem.

Thomas Worthington - District Finalist

That has a great ring to it, doesn't it? The Cards earned their spot in the Central District Title game with a hard fought 58 - 57 overtime win over Hilliard Davidson last Saturday.

An exciting game that saw the Cards get out to a double digit lead in the second half before Hilliard started chipping away. Davidson's Corey Harvey hit a three pointer from the top of the key as time expired to send the game to overtime.

Fortunately, the Cards didn't dwell too long on the loss of momentum as senior Justin Hallowell drilled a three to open the overtime period that gave the team life. Taylor Hobbs had a bucket in the extra frame and Eric Easley hit the game winner with 16 seconds left off a drive to the hoop. Easley was being closely guarded by his man until he rubbed him off a big Chris Nocar screen at the elbow. That guy went down like a sack of hammers, but Nocar's man was there to provide some defense against Easley who gave up about 8 inches in height to the guy. No worries, as Easley banked in the shot over him.

The Cards learned their lesson because when Harvey ended up with the ball and a chance for a game winning shot again in OT, he had three hands in his face and fell short on the shot. Hallowell also had a huge block in the sequence just prior to Harvey's shot.

I give the Cards a ton of credit for the win because there were many times throughout the game where the momentum turned against them. Harvey had a huge tip dunk in the first half, there were some pretty odd foul calls down the stretch in regulation, and the buzzer beater by Harvey to send the game to OT all could've been excuses to pack it in and give up. They found a way to win.

The Cards will take on Westerville South who upset the #2 team in the state in Northland on Saturday. Northland was without 6'8" sophomore Jared Sullinger, who was being sat for academic reasons, and South took advantage.

The District Final will be held Saturday at 3:00 pm at the Fairgrounds Coliseum. Best of luck to Coach Miller and the squad.


Article and Boxscore from the Dispatch:

Thomas Worthington 58, Hilliard Davidson 57, OT

Eric Easley made a driving shot with 16 seconds left in overtime as Thomas Worthington (19-4) edged Hilliard Davidson (17-5).

Davidson's Corey Harvey, who made a three-point shot as time expired in regulation, missed a last-second three-point try in overtime.

Justin Hallowell had 18 points and seven rebounds and Easley scored 17 points to pace the Cardinals, who had a 13-point lead with 6:10 left in the fourth quarter.

"We had a hard time finding a specific thing that worked because of their defense, but we somehow found a way to win," Cardinals coach Bob Miller said.


Thomas Worthington 58, Hilliard Davidson 57, OT

TW: Girardi 1-0-2, Easley 4-6-17, Hobbs 4-2-11, Hallowell 5-6-18, K.Cowgill 2-0-4, Nocar 3-0-6. 3-point goals: Easley 3, Hallowell 2, Hobbs. Totals: 19-14-58.
HD: Broadstone 2-4-8, Dietz 2-0-4, Blackwell 1-0-2, Goodwin 5-3-16, Harvey 7-0-15, Backstrom 3-6-12. 3-point goals: Goodwin 3, Harvey. Totals: 20-13-57.

Some Random Photos from Parent's Night

I took some random photos while the varsity players and their parents were waiting to be introduced.

Catherine & Chris Nocar


The Cowgill Family


Barclay & Justin Hallowell


The Abu-Kwiek Family


The Jewett Family


The Mickey Family:


Justin Hallowell, Wade Mickey, & Taylor Hobbs

Cards Advance to Coliseum

It was a lot of things, but pretty ain't one of them. Despite going 10 for 23 from the foul line, the Cards were able to hold off Dublin Coffman last night to advance in the Central District Tournament. The team fought hard and made plays when they needed it most.

From the Columbus Dispatch:

http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/preps/stories/2008/02/19/hsboys_alder19.ART_ART_02-19-08_C1_MK9D9FV.html?sid=101

Thomas Worthington 49, Dublin Coffman 45

Buoyed by a dominant third quarter, eighth-seeded Thomas Worthington (18-4) built an 11-point lead, then held off a comeback bid by Dublin Coffman (12-10) for a sectional victory.

Justin Hallowell paced balanced scoring for the Cardinals with 15 points. Point guard Eric Easley keyed the third-quarter burst with six of his eight assists.

Easley and Chris Nocar each made foul shots in the final 23.1 seconds to seal the outcome.

Sophomore Michael Green led Coffman with 22 points.

The boxscore:

Thomas Worthington 49, Dublin Coffman 45

TW : Girardi 4-0-8, Easley 1-2-4, Hobbs 2-3-8, Hallowell 6-1-15, K.Cowgill 2-1-5, Jewett 1-0-2, Nocar 2-3-7. 3-point goals : Hallowell 2, Hobbs. Totals : 18-10-49.

DC : Stucky 2-1-5, Stoudt 1-0-2, S.Gardiner 1-0-2, D.Gardiner 1-0-3, Green 7-8-22, Viers 3-4-11. 3-point goals : D.Gardiner, Viers. Totals : 15-13-45.



With the win, the Cards advance to the District Semifinal game against Hilliard Davidson. They will take on Davidson Saturday night at 7:00 pm at the Fairgrounds Coliseum.

Here is a link to the Central District Tournament Bracket:

Hope to see you there!

http://www.cdab.org/sports/bk/boys/2008/bd1brkt08.pdf

Good Luck Cards!

Cards Survive.....and Advance

Thomas Worthington gained a hard-fought win last night against a game Westerville North team in the first round of the Central District Tournament. Cardinal's point guard Eric Easley was a perfect 6 for 6 in the last two minutes from the free throw line to seal the victory. TWHS will take on Dublin Coffman, who was victorious over Worthington Kilbourne last night, on Monday in the second round of the tournament. Game is set to tip off at 8:00pm at Jonathan Alder.

The boxscore from the Columbus Dispatch:

Thomas Worthington 54, Westerville North 47

TW : Easley 1-8-10, Mickey 2-0-6, Hobbs 4-1-10, Hallowell 7-1-16, K.Cowgill 4-2-10, Nocar 1-0-2. 3-point goals : Mickey 2, Hobbs, Hallowell. Totals : 19-12-54.

WN : Hill 7-1-16, Barksdale 7-0-14, Gessner 1-0-2, Milnes 2-0-4, Workman 1-1-4, Thuman 2-0-5, Hessenauer 1-0-2. 3-point goals : Thuman, Workman, Hill. Totals : 21-2-47.


Saturday’s games —Northland (1) vs. Watkins Memorial, 6:15 p.m.; Westerville South vs. Upper Arlington, 8 p.m.


Monday’s games —Olentangy vs. Hilliard Davidson (7), 6:15 p.m.; Thomas Worthington (8) vs. Dublin Coffman, 8 p.m.

Game Time.....take two

The Central District Tournament game between Thomas Worthington and Westerville North that was snowed out on Tuesday will be played Thursday. Tip off is scheduled for 8pm at Jonathan Alder High School.

If Thomas manages to get a win, they turn right around and play the winner of the Kilbourne - Dublin Coffman game on Friday evening.

Good Luck Cards!