High school coaches pride themselves on teaching their athletes lasting life lessons, not just fundamentals.

But members of the Upper Arlington boys basketball team don’t mind when coach Tim Casey tells them that sometimes it’s perfectly acceptable to be selfish.

The Golden Bears clinched the outright OCC-Central Division championship Feb. 7 when they edged host Westland 52-51 for their eighth consecutive victory.

“When coach Casey talked to us in the locker room after the game, the basic message was we had to share the championship last year, but that’s not something we do,” senior forward Cameron Hood said. “We don’t share things.”

This is the Bears’ third consecutive league championship and first outright since 2009-10. UA shared the title with Dublin Coffman last season when both teams finished 13-1.

“This is the only one I’ve played a big part in,” said Hood, who primarily played junior varsity last season and did not play as a sophomore. “It’s a big deal to win an OCC title.”

Against Westland, senior guard Connor Casey hit a 3-pointer in the final minute to give the Bears a one-point lead. After Westland took a 51-50 lead with two free throws with about 20 seconds to play, sophomore guard Kevin Vannatta hit what proved to be the winning shot with less than 10 seconds left.

“We kept our composure,” Vannatta said, noting that senior guard Carter Smith fouled out with about a minute left. “Cam made a great pass to me on the block, I took a dribble and made a jump-hook. It was basically a left-handed layup.

“We were disappointed after last year. We definitely didn’t like sharing the title with one of our biggest rivals. It’s our first goal to win an OCC title. As the season went on, that became more of a possibility.”

UA, which was 15-3 overall before playing New Albany on Feb. 14, is 12-1 in the OCC-Central heading into its regular-season finale Friday, Feb. 17, at Coffman.

The Bears defeated Coffman 68-58 on Jan. 13 as all five starters scored in double figures. Vannatta led the way with 18 points, followed by Smith with 14, Casey and sophomore guard Danny Hummer with 13 apiece and Hood with 10.

“You want to be playing your best basketball here at the end of the year,” coach Casey said. “This is when it matters most, that’s for sure. This is the time you want to peak, and I think we’re starting to do that a little bit. Hopefully we can take that momentum, finish the last two weeks of the (regular) season strong and take it right into the tournament.”

UA was seeded seventh in the Division I district tournament and will face Briggs in the first round at 6 p.m. Feb. 23 at Reynoldsburg. The Bruins were 8-11 before playing Whetstone on Feb. 14.

The winner plays 12th-seeded Mount Vernon in the second round at 6 p.m. Feb. 29 at Reynoldsburg. The Yellow Jackets are 14-5 heading into their regular-season finale Friday, Feb. 17, at New Albany.

UA has not played Briggs or Mount Vernon this season.

The end of the regular season has brought a shift in practice strategy, which the Bears hope will lead to different results. They haven’t won a district championship since 2007 and have lost in a district semifinal the past two years, falling 59-56 to Westerville Central last year and 50-48 to Coffman in 2010. UA entered the latter game undefeated.

“We’ve been going shorter and harder with more emphasis on everything we do that’s critically important,” coach Casey said. “I think the guys have adapted and have a pretty good mindset and mentality. Day-by-day, game-by-game, they’ve worked hard. They get their work done, get out of here and stay fresh.”