On a seemingly inconsequential free throw, Ralph Hill took his place atop the Westerville North High School boys basketball program.

The 6-foot-6 senior post player sank his foul shot on Feb. 11 against Westerville South to become the top scorer in program history. Hill has 1,354 points and passed 1995 graduate Shaun Stonerook (1,327).

"It was pretty amazing to be able to do that," Hill said following a 71-55 loss to South. "(Stonerook) found out last summer when he was in town that I had a chance to break his record and he called me up and we had lunch. He's pretty cool and a very down-to-earth person and I couldn't be happier to be mentioned along with him."

Stonerook and the Warriors won a Division I state title in his junior season and North returned to a state semifinal in his senior season. He played college basketball at Ohio State and Ohio University and currently plays professional basketball for Montepaschi Siena in the Euroleague.

Hill entered the season second with 464 rebounds to Stonerook, who finished with 869.

"For Ralph to pass Shaun (in scoring) was amazing and he's worked hard for that," coach Kevin Thuman said. "He's pretty well behind Shaun in rebounds, though. Shaun averaged about 13 rebounds per game as a (junior) and was just unbelievable."

The Warriors were seeded sixth in the Division I district draw last Sunday at Olentangy Liberty, behind Northland, Gahanna, South, Upper Arlington and Dublin Coffman and ahead of seventh-seeded Mount Vernon.

"All things considered, I was happy with the draw," said Thuman, whose team was 14-3 overall as of last Sunday. "I thought we were about a six seed and I really like having a first-round bye. We play three games this week and it will be nice to get some time off and practice."

North plays Friday at home against Olentangy and Saturday at New Albany. Its game against Hilliard Davidson last Tuesday was postponed.

The Warriors will play Grove City or Dublin Scioto in a second-round district game at 6:15 p.m. Feb. 26 at Worthington Christian. The winner will play at 2:30 p.m. March 6 in a district semifinal in the Fairgrounds Coliseum against Lancaster, 11th-seeded Brookhaven, Newark or Mount Vernon.

Grove City and Scioto play at 8 p.m. Tuesday at Hamilton Township in the opening round.

"We have played Scioto twice and haven't played Grove City," said Thuman, whose team likely would play Gahanna in a district final at 12:30 p.m. March 13 at the Fairgrounds should the Warriors advance to that game.

The Warriors defeated Scioto 63-50 on Dec. 18 as Hill scored 30 points, including six 3-pointers, Brad Nettles scored 15 points and Kenny DeBoer scored 10.

North also beat the Irish 57-26 on Jan. 29. Nettles led the Warriors with 18 points, Hill added 15 points and DeBoer scored 11.

In the loss to South, the Warriors started strong, but became frustrated with the Wildcats' defensive sets.

"We jumped out to a good start and held our own, but I don't know whether the kids were surprised that South was able to come back in that kind of atmosphere or what," Thuman said, referring to a sold-out gym at North where officials were turning away fans before the tip-off.

"But South's defense was the difference. They focused on getting us to take contested shots and took us out of our game. Then they just outplayed us in the second half."

South leads the OCC-Central at 13-0, followed by Westerville Central and North both at 10-3.

Olentangy Liberty is fourth at 7-6, followed by both Olentangy and Dublin Jerome at 4-9, Marysville at 3-10 and Scioto at 1-12.

At a glance

Below are the recent results and coming schedules for the North boys and girls basketball teams:

BOYS

*Feb. 11 -- Lost to Westerville South 71-55 in a game postponed from last Friday. Ralph Hill scored 23 points, Andrew Forrest added eight points and Kenny DeBoer added seven points.

*Last Friday -- Defeated Marysville 63-45. Hill led with 24 points and four 3-pointers and DeBoer added 20 points. Brian Chandler had seven points.

*Friday -- Home vs. Olentangy. The Braves are 5-14 overall and 4-9 in the OCC-Cardinal. North won 62-50 on Jan. 15. Hill scored 29 points, Nettles added 12 points and both DeBoer and Forrest added seven points apiece.

Saturday -- At New Albany in a game postponed from Feb. 9. The Eagles were 11-6 before playing Big Walnut last Tuesday. North lost 52-37 last season.

Monday -- Home vs. Hilliard Davidson

Feb. 26 -- At Worthington Christian in a Division I second-round district game against Grove City or Dublin Scioto. The winner will play at 2:30 p.m. March 6 in a district semifinal at the Fairgrounds Coliseum against Lancaster, 11th-seeded Brookhaven, Newark or seventh-seeded Mount Vernon.

Of note: The Warriors are 14-3 overall and 10-3 in the OCC-Cardinal.

GIRLS

*Last Friday -- Def. Marysville 56-51. Kate Denney scored 17 points and both Caitlin Kusan and Nicole Fuller added seven points.

Last Saturday -- Def. Duncan Falls Philo 44-30. Kusan scored 15 points and Fuller added nine points, all on 3-pointers. Briyona Hearn had seven points.

Today -- At Olentangy vs. Teays Valley in first round of Division I district tournament. The winner plays Westerville South in the second round at 6:15 p.m. Feb. 25 at Westerville Central. The second-round winner will play at 6:15 p.m. March 3 at Olentangy Liberty in a district semifinal against Thomas Worthington, Mount Vernon, Whetstone or second-seeded Dresden Tri-Valley. The district final is at 7 p.m. March 6 at Liberty.

Saturday -- Home vs. Columbus East in a game postponed from Feb. 9. The Tigers are 15-4 and are the fifth seed in the Division II district tournament and had a first-round bye. North won 43-38 last season.

Of note: The Warriors are 12-7 overall and finished 9-5 in the OCC-Cardinal.

*OCC-Cardinal game