by JOHN HOWLEY / SportingPumpkin.com
After a slight scare in the second quarter, New Hope took control in the second half to claim its fifth Ohio Christian School Athletic Association title 60-41 over High Street Christian from Columbus.
The Statesmen held a 30-27 lead at the half in the game played at Ohio Christian University and held the Crusaders to a single free throw for the first seven minutes of the third quarter in getting out on top 42-28 and finished the period up 46-31.
New Hope got the lead to 20 points with about five minutes to go in the championship and the score hovered in that area the rest of the night.
Normally a strong three-point shooting team, the Statesmen did all their damage from inside the arc Saturday.
New Hope hit its first nine two-point attempts was 11-12 in the first quarter (11-15 overall from the field) in getting out to a 23-8 lead.
The shooting cooled off in the second (3-9 from two-point range and 3-10 overall) as High Street scored the first nine points of the quarter.
The Crusaders scored eight straight later in the period to close to 28-27 with 1:38 on the clock.
A basket by senior Lane Bruning with 1:10 left gave New Hope a three-point cushion at 30-27, which it carried into halftime.
Junior Xander Rink had eight of his game-high 23 in the first quarter for New Hope. Bruning had half of his 16 in the first quarter as well. Junior Hunter Cavanaugh added 11 for new Hope with sophomore Nate Ames scoring seven and sophomore Gavin Ludens three.
Logan McGraw led High Street with 13 points.
It was the third title in four years – with a second-place finish in 2022 – for New Hope with Bruning being a vital part of all four of those games. And he joins fellow seniors Landon Krouse, Thad Pollock, Isaac Herron and Thomas Scribner in being part of the most successful four-year run New Hope basketball has had.
The Statesmen finished the season with a 16-7 record.
New Hope Christian Academy 60, High Street Christian 41
High Street— Logan McGraw 4-3-13, Robert McGraw 2-2-7, Brendon Childers 3-0-8, Logan Farley 2-0-5, Joseph Fox 4-0-8. Three-point goals — L McGraw (2), R McGraw, Chiders (2), Farley. Total — 15-5-41.
New Hope — Hunter Cavanaugh 4-3-11, Gavin Ludens 1-1-3, Xander Rink 10-3-23, Nathaniel Ames 2-3-7, Lane Bruning 8-0-16. Total — 25-10-60,
Quarter scores 1 2 3 4 F
High Street 8 19 4 10 41
New Hope 23 7 16 14 60
