Newark boys shut down New Albany, assure Quackenbush of record win

NEWARK ― Truth be known, Newark coach Jeff Quackenbush was probably more excited about his team's lockdown defensive effort against New Albany than his historic win Friday night.

"He didn't even tell us," an incredulous Steele Meister said after Quackenbush's record 408th victory with his alma mater, a 58-36 takedown of the visiting Eagles in a Division I tournament second-round game. He surpassed Newark Hall of Fame coach Gary Walters, who had 407 including many with Quackenbush as a star player, and was on hand to congratulate him afterwards in Jimmy Allen Gymnasium.

"Coach Walters was always great and he deserves a ton of credit," Quackenbush said. "It was really cool for him to be here tonight. He has been a great mentor, as much off the court as on it. Mr. (John) Brown took a chance on a 26-year-old coach, and I've had a lot of great assistant coaches and people behind the scenes. But this is about the kids, not me. I haven't scored a basket in this gym since 1991."

Playing his final home game, Grant Burkholder made sure his coach reached the milestone with a 27-point, four-assist effort.

"I've very grateful to have been a part of it," he said. "I came here to be part of this program, and to get the coaching. I've been blessed."

Coaching came into play on this night, when 11th-seeded Newark (17-7) held 25th seed New Albany (10-13) to 32 percent shooting (15-of-46), including just 16 percent on 3-pointers (4-of-25). The Wildcats will play sixth seed Gahanna (19-4), a 56-33 winner against Columbus Independence, in the district semifinals at 7 p.m. Wednesday at a site to be determined.

After rallying from a 13-point deficit to escape 36th-seeded Olentangy in overtime, Newark was wary of the Eagles, who like the Braves had played some good teams very tough.

"We were fortunate enough to win that, then coach had us very well prepared for tonight," said Meister, who contributed 18 points and eight rebounds in the win.

"We all talked after that last game, how great it was to have another opportunity, and it showed the way we treated practice," Burkholder said. "We had 32 fresh minutes to play with, and we got ready for it."

Newark snapped from a 10-10 tie late in the first quarter to a 19-10 lead. Burkholder, who had nine first-quarter points, hit a mid-range jumper ending the first. Then in the second, Meister scored inside, Burkholder drove for another basket and freshman Ty Gilbert made a 3 from the left wing, off a Meister assist. After a timeout, New Albany trimmed its deficit to 19-15. But the Wildcats weren't cracking in this one. Meister had a three-point play, off a Gilbert assist, Burkholder found Kalen Winbush for a layup, then Gilbert struck again. He came up with a steal, was fouled as he crossed half court and hit both ends of a one-and-one with 1.8 seconds for a 28-17 halftime lead.

Burkholder buried back-to-back 3s in the third quarter, pushing Newark up 36-21, and the Eagles, constantly challenged on outside shots and drives by the Wildcats, never got closer than 12 again. Meister and Burkholder each had six points down the stretch and Tuesday hero Braylon Morris drained a 3.

"We knew they had shooters and three really good drivers, and we're pretty good at shutting dribble drives down," Burkholder said.

"Our kids were glad to be able to play again," Quackenbush said. "I thought we were focused and connected on defense. We switched defenses, and the kids executed and defended well." The Wildcats held talented 6-4 junior Braylen Nash, who had seven first-half points, to just two in the second half and no Eagle cracked double figures.

With Burkholder hitting 8-of-12 from the floor and 9-of-11 at the line, and Meister 7-of-12 from the field, Newark was a strong 19-of-35 overall for 54 percent and an outstanding 15-of-18 at the stripe for 83 percent. Drew Oberholtzer contributed six rebounds as the Wildcats controlled the backboards 28-21.

"Olentangy did a good job on Grant and he was kind of pressing, but tonight, he just relaxed and played," Quackenbush said. "He hit 3s, mid-range shots and got to the rim."

Getting to the rim was needed, as Newark lost stellar junior Ethan Stare to a foot injury suffered in the Olentangy win. The Wildcats, however, have adjusted.

"Everyone had to do a little more, and everyone did, on offense and defense," Burkholder said. "We played with a lot of passion and grit, and went out strong in our last home game."

"Coach told the young guys that they had to step up with Ethan out, and they were able to do that. Ethan was still helping the team, being like a coach on the bench," Meister said. "I feel bad for Ethan, but he's already helping the young guys in practice," said Quackenbush.

dweidig@gannett.com

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This article originally appeared on Newark Advocate: Newark boys shut down New Albany, assure Quackenbush of record win