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Greg Avery has led Newark all year.

The South Shall Rise Again -- Division I Saturday 3/1 Results -- Once again, upstart Westerville South has done it. First, they knocked off No. 1 Northland, and now Westerville South has a Central District gold medal and a spot in the regional tournament, beating Thomas Worthington 42-32. The Cardinals shot only 8 of 35 from the field in the loss, and star Taylor Hobbs could manage only 6 points against the Wildcats. No South player had more than 7 points in the low scoring affair. Mike Fletcher and Jason Davis reached that mark. South will play dangerous Dublin Scioto next Thursday at the Ohio Expo Coliseum in a regional semi-final. Scioto avenged its only loss of the year (from Feb. 5 on its home court), defeating Brookhaven 61-44. Central District player of the year, Chris Johnson of Brookhaven, was limited to one field goal though he had dominated the Irish in the earlier matchup. Junior center Marco St. John had 15 for Scioto. Newark knocked off favorite Zanesville Saturday morning 53-48 in a Division I Central District final for the other regional slot. Greg Avery again led Newark, this time with 28 points, and helped Newark overcome a 10 point deficit to Zanesville. Newark will face Trotwood-Madison in Regional action on Wednesday.  Favorites Flying -- Division IV Sat. Night -- No surprises here as the high seeds won the Division IV action at the Ohio Expo Center Coliseum Saturday night. Brian Hecker led Worthington Christian with 21 points and 14 boards as the No. 1 Warriors beat No. 3 Africentric 70-49. Zack Joseph added 17, but he and brother Tyler uncharacteristically had only one trey apiece in the win. Africentric managed to take away the long ball, but Worthington Christian compensated and dominated the second and third quarters to put the game ot of reach. The Nubians were led by Tim Mapp Jr.'s 11. Harvest Prep, the 2 seed, defeated Wellington 68-50 in the other Division IV game. Dane Givner had 22 for Harvest Prep and Jacob Robinson 20 for Wellington. Harvest Prep moves on to the Regionals to play Oak Hill at the Ohio Expo Center Coliseum on Tuesday at 8 pm. Worthington Christian draws Waterford at 6:15 on the same night, same place

Seth Faulkner and No. 1 Madison Plains could not repeat earlier success (London here), and fell to Bishop Ready.

Canal Crunch -- (Div. II 2/29) --  Favorite Canal Winchester did it again Friday night before a full Fairground forum, besting Buckeye Valley 63-51. Future Buckeye B.J. Mullens grabbed 26 rebounds and added 19 points to lead the Indians. Remon Nelson scored 17 as well, including 3 treys.  Buckeye Valley star Scott Thomas, headed to play at Bowling Green next year, had trouble finding a rhythm but ended with 22. Canal Winchester advances and will play Thursday at Wright State. Also advancing out of the Central District from Division II is City League South champ Eastmoor Academy, which defeated DeSales 50-33. Eastmoor held Stallions star Nick Kellogg to just 8 points. Antonio Bumpus put in 16 to lead Eastmoor, which cruised after trailing by one through tthe first quarter. Eastmoor will play Thursday at Bowling Green.  Nothin' Plain About It -- (Div. III 2/28) -- Upstart Bishop Ready toppled No. 1 seed Madison Plains Thursday night with a 12-0 final quarter run that gave the Silver Knights a 60-52 victory. The win gave Ready another Central District title for the mantle and one of the two Division III advancement spots. Senior Mark Louks posted 10 rebounds and 26 points for Ready, while Matthew McCollister led Madison Plains with 15. Ready will play again at Ohio University next Wednesday at 6:15 pm. Also advancing was impressive Columbus Academy, which came in as a 3 seed. The Vikings (20-4) defeated Highland 70-54 as Cameron Baker was perfect on 9 field goal attempts (23 points). Jake Beatley had 14 and Chris Crockett 13 for Columbus Academy in what was a two point game at the half. Columbus Academy likewise will play at 6:15 on Wednesday, but at Wright State in Dayton.

Worthington Christian keeps proving its No.1 seeding.

Little Big Men -- Division IV (2/27 Semi-Finals) -- If elected president, I'll be the voice of the little man. To start today, I'll give them their due because of the sheer excitement of the Division IV small-school Central District tournament, and also because they happen to be the only games being played mid-week. Dominating what appeared to be a great matchup Wednesday night at the Ohio Expo Center Coliseum, No. 2 Harvest Prep (22-1) felled Tree of Life (19-3) by a margin of 86-57. It was closer just after the half, with the Warrior lead only 6, but Harvest Prep rode a 27-12 third quarter to coast to victory and a second straight title game, as Tree of Life could not overcome 29 turnovers. Jeremy Hays had 19 points and 8 rebounds, but it was too little for the Trojans against Harvest Prep's  5 scorers in double figures. Nicko Shallow and Derrelle Mathis had 17 and 14 respectively for Harvest Prep. The Warriors will face the Wellington Academy Jaguars, who pounded Newark Catholic in the final quarter 22-7 en route to a close 49-45 victory. The game saw multiple last minute lead changes and a frenetic full court pressure from the Jaguars. Jacob Robinson led Wellington with 14 points and 10 boards. Wellington and Harvest Prep play one of the two Division IV Central District finals on Saturday at 8:30 pm. Two for Tuesday-- Showing that size doesn't matter, vertically challenged but tough Africentric out-rebounded Berne Union Tuesday night and hit big fourth quarter free throws to win 55-42 and move within one game of advancing beyond the Central District tourney. The Nubians were led once again by Tim Mapp, Jr. who had 29 points and 10 rebounds. Ronnie Edwards had 20 points, 8 blocks and 7 boards for Berne Union. Africentric will play Saturday at 5:30 in the other Central District sub-section final against top-seeded Worthington Christian for one of the two Division IV advancement spots. Worthington Christian qualified by defeating Fairfield Christian Tuesday night by thirty, 88-58. Brian Hecker led Worthington Christian with 21, supported by brothers Tyler Joseph and Zack Joseph, who were the subjects of a detailed Columbus Dispatch cover story the morning of the game you can read here. Tyler had 10 points with 2 treys and Zack put down 18 with 3 treys. Eric Knechtel of Fairfield Christian drained 6 three-pointers and finished with 27 in the loss. 

Jared Sullinger was suspended by his father/coach and Northland suffered its first loss.

Northland Knocked Off -- (2/24) -- Top seeded Northland was eliminated from the Division I Central District tourney last night by upstart Westerville South 67-59. Northland coach Satch Sullinger had suspended his star son, Jared (OSU recruit) due apparently to study related issues. Devon Moore had 24 for the Vikings, but it wasn't enough as Westerville South hit 15 of 16 late free throws and rode 17 points from Matthew Fletcher and 16 from Ryan Harrington. It was City League North champ Northland's first loss of the year. In other action, Brookhaven beat Hilliard Darby behind 21 points and 9 rebounds from player of the year Chris Johnson. Hilliard Davidson also fell, in overtime to Thomas Worthington 58-57. Once-beaten Dublin Scioto survived a scare form Mt. Vernon, needing overtime to post a 55-52 win. Ben Severns had 23 points including 5 treys for Mt. Vernon and may have been fouled on a three point attempt at game end, but the play was called strip and there was no whistle. Dublin Jerome had its magical season cut short by Zanesville 64-52.

Antonio Bumpus led Eastmoor Academy to another win.

Friday Finals --  In Division II, Antonio Bumpus and Eastmoor Academy defeated Big Walnut 52-47, but the strong defensive battle brought to mind memories of the great 2007 football seasons for each school. Big Walnut, of course, was a state football champion. Eastmoor went 10-1 but did not make the playoffs. However, Cincinnati recruit and columbussports.com Bronze Bratwurst winner RB Isaiah Pead himself recruited donations of over $1000 for charity by getting duct taped to the gym wall this week. For the basketball EA Warriors, Bumpus had a team high 12 points while 4 other teammates had at least eight. Meanwhile, DeSales and Nick Kellogg overcame a halftime deficit and defeated tenacious Utica 65-55, as Kellogg put in 20, including 14 in the final quarter. The Stallions' Nick Goff also had 14 points and 12 rebounds. We now look forward to a DeSales matchup with Eastmoor Academy at 9 pm on Friday for the Central District Division II title. Good basketball, fans. 

Canal Winchester took it to Mifflin Thursday.

Thursday Thrills -- The Division II matchup between Mifflin and No. 1 Canal Winchester failed to live up to City League expectations tonight, as talented and underrated Punchers could not keep up with Buckeye-to-be B.J. Mullens & Co., falling 87-56. I have no idea who keeps these kinds of stats, but the Mifflin had been tops in the Central District in scoring averaging 80 points per game, in City League North play no less, until they hit the Mullens buzzsaw. Mullens led Canal Winchester with 37 points and 18 rebounds in basicallly three quarters.  Buckeye Valley won the other semi-final over Granville, 56-47, relying on a 15-0 second quarter and 17 points and 11 boards from Scott Thomas, who has committed to Bowling Green.  In Division IV action, top seeded Worthington Christian rolled 90-37 over Mt. Vernon Academy behind Brian Hecker's first half 18 and 10 rebounds. The Joseph brothers each had three three pointers for the WC Warriors. No. 2 Harvest Prep with no subtlety mauled Powell Village Academy 113-21 after leading 89-10 through three quarters. The HP Warriors went on a 49-2 run, and 5 Harvest Prep players had 13 points or more while 13 had at least 4 points. Africentric beat Northside Christian 65-32 behind Tim Mapp, Jr.'s 21 points in three quarters to advance. UA's private school pounders Wellington mildly upset fourth seed Fisher Catholic 52-40 as Jacob Robinson had 22 points including 7 of 8 free throws in the final quarter, with 10 free throws overall.

New McDonald's All-American and future OSU star B.J. Mullens pounded 48 points and 11 rebounds for Canal Winchester Monday night in Division II.

Favorites Flying (2/20) -- Div. I -- No upsets in this week's early action, as the Central District tournament saw the rich get richer after some initial surprises last week. In Division I, Hilliard Darby overcame a sluggish first half against Delaware and prevailed 66-55.  Robbie Anzuini had 17 while CS football Bronze Bratwurst winner Jeremy Ebert and Panther teammate Jeremy Ball each put in 14. Dublin Jerome barely followed its winning ways,scraping by Pickerington Central in 2 OTs 61-53. Steve Couche had 25 for Jerome. Hilliard Davidson also needed overtime to eliminate Olentangy 59-51. Davidson trailed by 8 at the half and was led by 4 treys and 15 total by Grant Goodwin. Brookhaven topped Groveport as expected, 63-57 with 24 points from Chris Johnson. Brookhaven gets Darby at the Fairgrounds Coliseum on Saturday at 2:30 pm. Canal Crushes -- Div. II -- OSU recruit B.J. Mullens used his 7'1" frame to dominate Centennial in an 87-57 Canal Winchester win. Mullens was 22 of 25 with 48 points and 11 rebounds. Mullens has now been named a McDonald's All-American. Talented Mifflin crushed Licking Heights 27-14 in the final quarter to win 75-71. Keshon Pullins had 25 and Brandon English 14 for City League's Mifflin. Mifflin must play Canal Winchester on Thursday. The City League South's champ Eastmoor Academy continued to flex its muscle despite a disappointing second quarter that led to a 25-20 halftime deficit to Jonathan Alder. Antonio Bumpus, a Division II first team honoree for the Central District who has made quite a name in this column, scored 27 in the second half and 35 overall to boost favorite Eastmoor. 

Third seed Columbus Academy rode a furious comeback over Hartley.

Not Just Academic - Division III -- (Through 2/20) Columbus Academy defeated Hartley Tuesday night 86-73 to make the tournament sub-sectional final against Highland, which defeated Elgin 42-39. Cameron Baker had 27, Chris Crockett 22 and Jake Beatley 18 for the Vikings, while hot Hartley star Ben Seifert had 18 points including 2 treys and 9 boards in the loss. Hartley had defeated Columbus Academy 66-50 in the regular season and led by 10 in the third quarter Tuesday night. In the other match, Highland (Sparta) exacted revenge on rival Elgin after two regular season losses in their series. Brandon Geiger had 16 in the Scots' seventh straight win. Wed. Night -- Top seeded Madison Plains just sqeaked by River Valley 77-75 to reach their Division III sectional final. They'll play Ready next Thursday (2/28) as the Silver Knights and Mark Louks (18 points) took out No. 2 seed Cardington 59-47. The winner will play the victor of Columbus Academy and Highland. Madison Plains star point guard Matthew McCollister had only 3 points, but engineered a crucial last second throw in leading to the win. Seth Faulkner had 21 and Nick Joslin 19 in the Golden Eagles' win. Division IV --  In Wednesday's tourney finals, Tree of Life (see new coach of the year awards) impressively eliminated Grove City Christian 79-48 while Newark Catholic crushed Madison Christian 74-29. Berne Union took out Marion Catholic 60-37 to advance.

Northland rolled in the first two rounds.

First Round Finals In - Saturday Night Specials -- Heavy favorite Dublin Scioto (20-1) trailed lowly Westland t the half and led only by one with the final quarter looming, but Bradley McDougald led the Scioto final charge (23 total, 10 in the fourth) as Scioto pulled away 64-49 to advance in the Division I Central District Tournament Saturday Night. Beechcroft topped Grove City 62-56, while the Upper Arlington Golden Bears lost the momentum of their initial victory, falling to Westerville South 64-51. Northland rolled again, 60-23 over Watkins Memorial, in a game that was 6-0 after the first. In Division II, DeSales met expectations, dismantling East 92-39. East kept it close through the first half but Nick Kellogg (29 points) and the Stallions proved too much in the second. Granville topped pesky New Albany 64-57. in Division III, top seed Madison Plains trailed Heath at the half but stormed back behind Matthew McCollister's 16 (3 treys) to win 57-43. Grandview lost to River Valley 61-56 after the Bobcats had won their first tournament match. Columbus Academy, as expected, routed East Knox 88-52.  Cameron Baker had a triple double (24 points) and Chris Crockett put in 19 including a pair of treys. Action continues Monday night! Through 2/15  -- No surprise, Division I powerhouse Northland dismantled Lancaster 82-39 with 17 from Devon Moore (2 treys) and 18 from Jerod Sullinger. Hilliard Darby crushed Briggs 73-30 and Brookhaven beat Franklin Heights 73-54 behind 23 from Chris Johnson. Dublin Jerome pushed its notable season forward 58-46 over Teays Valley. Gahanna fell to Pickerington Central 54-48. In Division II, we have to note that the battle of the 1-19 teams went to Centennial 73-70 over Whitehall, as the Stars rode a 31-16 fourth quarter. Division III standout Ridgedale suffered a stinging OT loss 65-63 to Highland. Central District scoring leader J.R.Weston had 23 in the defeat. Columbus Academy fared better, beating Liberty Union 73-43. Roundball Roundup feelgood favorite Chris Crockett put in a trio of triples for the CA Vikings as he continued his knee injury comeback. Grandview topped Northridge 50-46 as well. Division IV action saw tourney favorite Worthington Christian win big over Delaware Christian 88-30 and Africentric beat Danville 74-48.

The Whitehall Rams and Centennial, both 1-19, waited until Valentine's Day to fight out a close contest.

Initial Upsets  -- (2/13 games) --  Briefly, Mt. Vernon upset OCC Buckeye champ Reynoldsburg  60-57 and Upper Arlington defeated OCC Central champ Westerville Central 50-47 on the first actual night of action. More to come. Ready, Set  . . . Stop!!!! -- Tuesday's  inaugural round of the 2008 Central District boys' high school basketball tournament has been cancelled in its entirety due to the winter storm that hit the capital city. All local schools had been closed for the day. Games were rescheduled to 2/14, so take your sweety out to see a game -- chicks dig it! We'll have to wait until then to see such thrilling matchups as St. Charles (7-13) vs. Walnut Ridge (9-11), Centennial (1-19) vs. Whitehall (1-19), Licking Heights (9-11) vs. Linden (6-13) and North Union (6-14) vs. Northmor (4-16). Everyone plays in this first round, so fans of every school can now have Valentines Night plans.

Pairings Posted --  Well, it's still two weeks away and not all conference championships are decided, but the gurus at the OHSAA have now released the boys' Central District playoff pairings and seedings. As normal, the pairings are skewed with some top teams getting byes but some other excellent high seeds playing early games, albeit against marginal foes. Local notables are --  Division I -- (1) Northland vs.Lancaster (2/13); (2) Dublin Scioto vs. Westland/Central Crossing winner (2/16); (3) Zanesville vs. St. Charles/Walnut Ridge winner (2/15); (4) Hilliard Darby vs. Briggs (2/12); (5) Brookhaven vs. Franklin Heights (2/13); (6) Newark vs. West (2/13);   Division II -- (1) Canal Winchester vs. Whitehall/Centennial winner (2/15); (2) Eastmoor Academy vs. South/Jonathan Alder winner (2/15); (3) DeSales vs. East/Lakewood winner (2/16); (4) Buckeye Valley vs. Amanda-Clearcreek/Watterson winner (2/16);  (5) Big Walnut vs. London/Hamilton Township winner (2/15);  Division III -- (1) Madison Plains vs. Heath/West Jefferson winner (2/16); (2) Cardington vs. Pleasant/Centerburg winner (2/15); (3) Columbus Academy vs. Liberty Union (2/12); (4) Ridgedale vs. Highland (2/12); (5) Ready vs. Northmoor/North Union winner (2/15);   Division IV -- (1) Worthington Christian  vs. Delaware Christian (2/15); (2) Harvest Prep vs. Gilead Christian (2/16); (3) Africentric vs. Danville (2/15); (4) Fisher Catholic vs. Millersport (2/16); (5) Tree of Life vs. Grove C C (2/20).  

Tags: b.j. mullens, high school basketball, high school sports