Basketball Recap: Olentangy Falls Despite Big Games from Ulysses Ponder and Jackson Mangham

It's hard to turn regular season success into postseason wins, a fact Olentangy can now relate to. They fell 57-46 to the Newark Wildcats on Tuesday. While losing is never fun, the Braves can't take it too hard given the team's big disadvantage in MaxPreps' Ohio basketball rankings (they are ranked 136th, while the Wildcats are ranked 38th).

Olentangy's loss came despite strong showings from Jackson Mangham and Ulysses Ponder. Mangham to rack up 15 points, while Ponder posted nine points and seven assists. That's the most assists Ponder has posted since back in January of 2024.

Olentangy's defeat dropped their record down to 13-10. As for Newark, they are on a roll lately: they've won seven of their last eight contests. That's provided a nice bump to their 19-4 record this season.

Olentangy does not have any more games scheduled as of now. As for Newark, they will venture away from home to challenge Upper Arlington at 10:00 a.m. on Saturday.