[OSUBasketballJunkie]

DDN

2/19/06

Mayo's 43 no match for Oak Hill balance

By Mark Gokavi
Dayton Daily News

CINCINNATI | In THE show Saturday night at US Bank Arena, Oak Hill Academy showed its balance was better than North College Hill's Big 2.

The Warriors, rated No. 1 by many national services, held off NCH and O.J. Mayo 88-74 in front of 16,500 in the nightcap of the Scholastic Play-By-Play Classic.

A 21-11 first-quarter advantage set the tone for Oak Hill. Leading the way in points were Tywon Lawson (21 points), Nolan Smith (19) and Anthony Wright (13). North College Hill, ranked No. 2 nationally, got a whopping 43 points from Mayo — who missed the postgame press conference with cramps — and 24 from Bill Walker.

THE MAIN EVENT
IN THE CROWD: Southern California coach Tim Floyd was spotted at the NCH-Oak Hill game. Floyd arrived from Los Angeles at 6:15 p.m. and has a flight back for this morning. USC hosts UCLA at 8 p.m. today.
"This is the most impressive atmosphere I've seen for a high school game," Floyd said. "It's almost surreal."
Kentucky coach Tubby Smith also was in attendance.
NO SIGN OF ELLIS: There was no sign of NCH junior center Keenan Ellis around the floor seating. Ellis was dismissed from the team Thursday. Ellis was the Trojans' third leading scorer at 11.5 points a game.
LOOKING AHEAD: With O.J. Mayo and Bill Walker returning for their senior seasons, Oak Hill coach Steve Smith said he believes North College Hill "probably" will be the national preseason No. 1.
Smith said he would like to play NCH next season.
"We talked about it, so if they are interested in playing again - it's logical to play here - I am sure the promoter would want to play here," Smith said.