Cade Norris had a plan when he was double-teamed with Saturday's first Division I boys basketball district final at Ohio Dominican tied in the final seconds, and then he admitted time slowed down after he nailed a pass to open teammate Andrew Lamb on the baseline.
"I was supposed to get an elbow catch and go left, but (Lamb being open) caught me by surprise," Norris said. "It took me a second and then I found him. I was a little nervous because (Lamb) paused a little bit, but yeah, it was awesome."
Lamb, whom coach Brett Norris called "the most awkward good player I've coached," clutched the ball and put in a layup to cap a comeback from 13 points down halfway through the fourth quarter as fifth-seeded Hilliard Bradley fended off the No. 13 Warhawks 64-62.
Cade Norris' 36 points, his fourth career 30-point game, as well as seven assists and five rebounds powered Bradley (21-5) to its first district title since 2021 and into a regional semifinal against Delaware Hayes at 8 p.m. Wednesday at Ohio Dominican .
Off an inbound pass from Jed Bischoff, Cade Norris was double-teamed to the right of the foul line but found Lamb underneath the basket.
"Games like this in the tournament, if you find a way to win, it feels like a second life and it propels you to bigger things," Brett Norris said. "I'm not surprised (Central) chose to trap Cade. … but to do it in that moment, for Andrew to make that layup in that moment, it was a huge play. Courageous."
Devin Martin's 16 points and six assists led a balanced effort for Central (16-8), which bolted to a 15-4 lead and led for most of the final 13 minutes. Josh Henderson added 14 points, Maceo Harper 13 and Dallas Tucker 10.
Isaiah Brown had 13 rebounds.
Bradley clawed back in with an 11-0 run, capped by Cade Norris' layup to make it 58-56 with 2:52 to go. He scored another six points to put the Jaguars ahead 62-60, and Martin drove to the basket to tie it with 25 seconds left.
Martin missed a heave as time expired, and Central was denied its first district championship since its state runner-up season of 2021.
"We got what we wanted at the end," Central coach Kevin Martin said. "It's as hard a game as you play. You prepare for everything but you have to adjust. Usually what you prepare for isn't the way it goes in these games. We battled and fought. … We were rolling at one point in the second half, but we couldn't sustain that."
—Dave Purpura
Top-seeded Orange pulled away in the second quarter and cruised to its second consecutive district title.
The Pioneers (25-1) will play Newark in a regional semifinal at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday at Ohio Dominican.
Orange outscored eighth-seeded Reynoldsburg 20-2 in the second quarter to build a 38-14 lead at halftime. The Raiders (19-7) entered the game averaging 72 points.
"Reynoldsburg chose to play us (during the district tournament draw)," Pioneers coach Anthony Calo said. "They didn't want to play certain teams that are very disciplined. What we told our kids is we have effort, we have skill, athleticism and discipline. (We have) a combination of all of them, and we showed all of that today. I'm very proud of them. The kids were amazing."
Levi Davis' dunk and subsequent 3-point play in the closing seconds of the first half put an exclamation point on the Pioneers' surge.
"I was feeling the adrenalin," Davis said.
Keegan Knupp led the Pioneers with 18 points, followed by Dylan Joy with 14 and Devin Brown with 10.
Noah Smith led Reynoldsburg with 10 points.
"I'm so happy for coach," Davis said. "We did this last year. People were doubting us. They didn't think we could come back and do it again. Coach held us to a high standard. He's really made us what we are, so all congrats to him."
Last season, Orange lost to eventual state runner-up Pickerington Central 57-53 in a regional final.
"We're definitely going to celebrate this and take it back home and celebrate with the community, but we're looking for the road to (the state tournament in) Dayton," Davis said. "That's the place where it's at."
—Frank DiRenna
Delaware senior Jesse Burris vividly recalls a message from coach Adam Vincenzo as Orange was celebrating a 54-39 win over the Pacers in a 2023 district final at Ohio Dominican.
Vincenzo told Burris and teammate Jake Lowman to remember the moment.
"He told us to watch Orange cut the net and said we're going to be doing that next year," Burris said. "Finally, all the hard work has paid off."
Burris, Lowman and their teammates responded by cruising past Walnut Ridge for Delaware's first district title since 1986.
"Orange was better than us last year," Vincenzo said. "We used that experience for this year. Being on this stage, we weren't fazed at all. We were ready. I had a great feeling about us today and we'll keep it rolling next week."
Second-seeded Delaware (25-1) opened a 45-33 lead at halftime and led by as many as 23 points in the second half.
Burris led the Pacers with 23 points, followed by Landon Vanderwarker (21), Lowman (18) and Jeremiah Russell (15).
Dominique Aekins scored 34 points for 22nd-seeded Walnut Ridge (17-8).
"Early on it was just too easy for them," Scots coach Chuck Jefferson said. "We gave up way too many transition points. They were beating us up and down the floor. Against a great team like that, you can't dig yourself a hole."
—Frank DiRenna
Newark closed the day of basketball at Ohio Dominican by winning its second consecutive district title and 28th overall.
Ethan Stare scored 21 points, Steele Meister had 15 and Jake Quakenbush added 11 to lead the fourth-seeded Wildcats (22-4).
"Our kids played so hard," Newark coach Jeff Quakenbush said. "I'm so proud of these guys. Yesterday was our 80th practice of the year. ... Our defense has been what's been good for us all year, as at times we have struggled to score and that's what keeps us in games. I thought defensively we were really good."
Micah Young led sixth-seeded North (21-5) with 24 points and Tai Perkins added 11.
With 58 fouls called in the game, Newark was 26 of 42 from the free-throw line and North was 20 of 24.
Newark took control in the second quarter, outscoring the Warriors 14-3 for a 31-16 halftime lead. The Wildcats held North without a field goal for 12:03, with Elijah McCree's 3-pointer ending the drought with 4:47 left in the third quarter.
—Frank DiRenna
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: OHSAA boys basketball: Central Ohio D-I district finals roundup
