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http://www.columbussports.com/content/hotNews/roundball-roundup---central-ohio-hs-playoff-push.shtmlRoundball Roundup - End of Year Titles and Stats (All Central District Teams Announced)
Final stats, standings and awards for high school hoops.
All-Central District Honors -- As reported by the Columbus Dispatch, OHSAA Central Division awards have been announced as follows (* denotes player of the year). Most have been heralded here and almost all can be found amongst the stat leaders at the bottom of this page (scroll down). Division I -- First Team: Greg Avery (Newark), Chris Johnson* (Brookhaven), Devon Moore (Northland), Jared Sullinger (Northland), Robbie Taylor (Gahanna), Coach -- Brett Norris (Hilliard Darby) ; Division II -- Antonio Bumpus (Eastmoor Academy), Nick Kellogg (DeSales), B.J. Mullens* (Canal Winchester), Scott Thomas (Buckeye Valley), Zack Walton (Utica), Coach -- Sean Taylor (Eastmoor Academy); Division III -- Jake Beatley (Columbus Academy), Matthew McCollister (Madison Plains), Eli Morris (Fairbanks), Ben Seifert (Hartley), J.R. Weston* (Ridgedale), Coach -- Troy King (Cardington); Division IV -- Dane Givner (Harvest Prep), Brian Hecker* (Worthington Christian), Tim Mapp, Jr. (Africentric), Luke Roesch (Fisher Catholic), David Schmelzer (Torah Academy), Coach -- Jim Morgan/Joe Arndt (Tree of Life).
End of the World as We Know It -- (2/12) -- Regular season action is now over, folkies. Except for the aforementioned City League title match that went to Devon Moore, Jared Sullinger and Northland, the only other final league game of the season this weekend was Bexley's MSL Ohio home win over Licking Valley 53-46. The Lions (16-4, 12-2) look forward to Central District tournament play now after finishing a nice season second in the league, riding 13 points from each Seth White and John Haenszel. Though not in an MSL matchup, Columbus Academy finished strong behind Jake Beatley's 23 in defeating Licking Heights 74-69. Chris Crockett continued his notable comeback from a devastating football knee injury with 2 treys and 10 points for the CA Vikings. In Division III, tourney favorite Madison Plains rebounded from a disappointing SCOL league loss to Washington CH by beating Chillicothe Unioto 59-55 thanks to a 23-10 fourth quarter domination and 17 points from Matthew McCollister. DeSales' Nick Kellogg (10 points) was overshadowed by teammates Ike Ariguzo and Zak Gaborcik, who had 15 apiece in the Stallions' 76-51 win over Massillon Washington. Follow This -- Unsung Upper Arlington finished on a positive note, breaking out to a 37-20 halftime lead and holding on to defeat River Valley 67-59. The Golden Bears (12-8) will face tough Westerville Central (14-6) in the first tournament round on Wed. night (2/13) out at Jonathan Alder's gym in Plain City. Jonathan Alder (14-6) in turn gets woeful South (2-18) tonight, barring the snowstorm, at Gahanna, but the winner must then face Antonio Bumpus and City League South champ Eastmoor Academy (17-2) Friday night at Scioto. Harvest Time -- The last best game of the year was perhaps somewhat unpredictable and semi-neighbourly, but exhilirating in a David and Goliath way. Division I Reynoldsburg had just clinched its big school OCC Buckeye title and Division IV Harvest Prep had consistently been feeding off of last year's tournament successes, winning the MSL Cardinal and garnering a #2 local small school ranking. The two faced off in a year end classic of successful yet disparate schools. So the big school won, of course, right? Not so fast, as host Harvest finished 26-18 in the final quarter to defeat Reynoldsburg and Chris Ricks (20 points) by a final of 77-67. Dane Givner and Derelle Mathis led Harvest Prep (19-1) with 19 and 15 respectively. Scroll Down for Final League Standings and Stat leaders.
Title Time -- (2/10) -- Northland (14-0, 19-0) won the City League North and then played Saturday afternoon at Mifflin in the annual final against the South champion, this time impressive Eastmoor Academy (14-0, 17-2). EA is a Division II school, however, and Northland is currently ranked #2 in the state in Division I. The difference showed as Northland dominated 57-31 behind Jerod Sullinger and Devon Moore. Sullinger had 17 boards and 16 points while Moore had 8 assists and 12 points. Antonio Bumpus had over half of Eastmoor's output with 16 points including 2 treys. Division II Canal Winchester (14-0, 18-2) rolled to the MSL Buckeye crown 73-56 over Amanda Clearcreek. B.J.Mullens scored 19 in the first half and Canal coasted to the league title. DeSales (9-1, 16-3) and Div. IV Worthington Christian (9-1,19-1) earlier split their season series and then tied for the Central Catholic League title. Nick Kellogg had a big second half to lead DeSales over Watterson 67-54 at Otterbein, and Tyler Joseph hit 6 treys to push Worthington Christian over Hartley 81-66. Div. IV Harvest Prep (14-0, 18-1) continued to show its equal, winning the MSL Cardinal and defeating Licking Heights 66-58 with Martyn Gale's 16 points. Columbus Academy (Div. III 13-1, 15-4) won the MSL Ohio division with a 79-56 win over Licking Valley. OCC title winners were Reynoldsburg (OCC Buckeye 8-2, 13-6), Dublin Scioto (OCC Capital 10-0, 19-1), Dublin Jerome (OCC Cardinal 8-2, 14-5) and Hilliard Darby (OCC Ohio 9-1, 16-3).
Brookhaven Bounces Scioto -- (Games of 2/5) -- Dublin Scioto (18-1) is undefeated no more. In what amounted to a great but virtually meaningless non-league game, Scioto fell on its home court to Chris Johnson and Brookhaven 57-49, despite leading 26-24 at half. Johnson had early foul trouble but came on strong in the second half. Both teams can look forward to very favorable initial tournament matchings due to their high seeds, so this game really had no effect except to put a "1" in Scioto's season loss column. Lesser noticed but excellent area small schools continued to roll, with Div. IV Worthington Christian (18-1) again prevailing, this time 72-57 over a good Ridgedale team boasting J.R. Weston, the current OHSAA Central District leading scorer at 27.6 ppg. Weston had 21 points and two treys in the loss. Brian Hecker had 22 and Zach Joseph 20 for Worthington Christian, the area's top small school. Harvest Prep (13-0, 17-1) stayed close by defeating second place MSL Cardinal challenger Fisher Catholic 64-50. Tree of Life (11-0, 17-2) prevailed in the MOCAL over Grove City Christian 81-59. Also in the Mid State League, Columbus Academy (12-1, 14-4) took one over Newark Catholic 66-54 and Logan Elm (11-2, 15-4) defeated Amanda-Clearcreek 63-41. In other MSL action, the area's top Division II team, Canal Winchester (13-0, 17-2) whipped Bloom-Carroll 70-45, with B.J. Mullens scoring only 14 but three other Canal players in double figures and 5 with treys. In the CCL, Watterson defeated Ready 62-33. In non-league action, Dublin Jerome topped Big Walnut 68-59 to extend its impressive season.
Are You Ready for Some Roundball? -- (2/4) Friday night's cancelled City League games were rescheduled for Monday 2/4. All City league action had been postponed as Columbus City Schools were closed due to ice. There were some gems, including Brookhaven vs. Beechcroft in the North and Eastmoor Academy vs. Africentric in the South. Brookhaven bounced back over Beechcroft behind 33 points from Chris Johnson. A 23-8 third quarter run propelled Brookhaven, which trailed 33-26 at half. Africentric gave it a good shot, but Eastmoor Academy pulled away in the 4th quarter, defeating the Nubians 63-53. Antonio Bumpus had 14 for Eastmoor. Local number 1(# 2 statewide) and City League North leader Northland defeated Mifflin 99-70. Ten players scored for the Vikings, and Jared Sullinger led with 20. More tonight, with many inter-conference games and action in the Mid-State League.
Saturday Night Fever (games of 2/2) -- Mid State League -- Columbus Academy (13-4, 11-1) got closer to wrapping up the MSL Ohio Saturday night 81-71 over Granville (14-4, 9-3). Chris Crockett drained 6 treys for CA, who also nailed free throws all night (22-26). Not far behind, the Bexley Lions (13-4, 9-2) scraped by league foe Lakewood 49-47. A battle of the top two teams in the MSL Buckeye saw Canal Winchester (16-2, 12-0) defeat Logan Elm (14-4, 10-2) by a score of 60-45. Remon Nelson outscored teammate B.J. Mullens 20 to 12. Meanwhile, Division IV Harvest Prep (16-1, 12-0) clinched the MSL Cardinal 94-56 over Berne Union with 10 boards and 18 points from Nicko Shallow. Harvest Prep had 11 players with points in the game. Davidson/Darby and Dublin -- Last night's episode of the battle for Hilliard saw Davidson (16-3) escape 48-41 over Darby (15-3) with crucial free throws down the stretch. In the OCC Capital Dublin Scioto (18-0, 9-0) kept rolling in a game of treys, 59-53 over Big Walnut. Scioto's Kyle Duncan had 7 three pointers while Big Walnut's Kenton Comstock had 5.
Hoops Central (2/2) -- OCC -- The OCC Central has a new a face in the middle of things - Westerville Central (13-4, 8-1), playing in just its fifth season, and the first one of any note. The Warriors beat former first place Thomas Worthington on the road 54-53 in overtime last night (2/1) to clinch at least a share of the league title. Each team has one more league game remaining. Dublin Scioto (17-0, 8-0) continued to dominate the OCC Capital, this time 77-40 over Olentangy Liberty. Blair Gorniak contributed 18, and Scioto had five players in double figures. Hilliard Darby (15-2, 8-1) held on 66-62 in an OCC Ohio contest over Westland, while Hilliard Davidson (15-3, 7-2) once again relied on Grant Goodwin and his long rangers (24 points, 4 treys) in a 54-36 OCC Buckeye win over Westerville North. However, pesky Reynoldsburg (12-6, 7-2) kept a share of the Buckeye lead too, beating Dublin Coffman 67-52 with 21 from Eric Beard. Dublin Jerome (11-5, 7-2) continued its OCC Cardinal hopes in a 54-44 home win over Worthington Kilbourne behind 17 points from Tim Brady. Newark (14-4, 7-2) kept dreams alive in the OCC Ohio, staying a game behind Darby with a 58-47 win over Groveport as Greg Avery put in 21 for the victors. CCL (2/1) -- In other notable local action, Division II DeSales (15-3, 8-1) rode 17 point performances by three players (Nick Kellogg, Nick Goff and Sean Hobbs) to defeat Central Catholic league foe St. Charles 69-40. Worthington Christian (Div. IV, 17-1, 8-1) kept up the CCL first place tie with DeSales (the two split their season series) by besting Ready 64-57 as Brian Hecker scored 24. City League Action Cancelled 2/1 -- Columbus City Schools were closed for ice on Friday and consequently all City League action was postponed until Monday.
Stringin' It Out -- Another Tuesday night (1/29) of local hoops pushes us eventually forward to the sectional tourney of the Central district, where the seeds and matchups have already been set. The rich got richer once again. B.J. Mullens put in 38 for Canal Winchester while Chris Johnson had 32 for Brookhaven. Northland had 5 players in double figures. In the night's notable action: Northland 72, Beechcroft 64; Brookhaven 78, Mifflin 72; Eastmoor Academy 77, Marion-Franklin 57; Dublin Jerome 54, Olentangy Liberty 51; Gahanna 75, Westerville N. 55; Olentangy 72, Big Walnut 58; Thomas Worthington 69, Upper Arlington 57; Canal Winchester 77, Hamilton Twp. 61; Madison Plains 74, S, Charleston SE 60; Cardington 61, Hartley 58; Buckeye Valley 60, Watterson 55; Worthington Christian 64, St. Charles 57; Africentric 70, South 55; Harvest Prep 72, West Jefferson 49; Bonus semi-local outrageous score -- Zanesville 101, Athens 37. Wed. 1/30 -- Bexley 57, Newark Catholic 55.
'Atta Boy -- CBS analyst and former Buckeye and NBA standout Clark Kellogg's son Nick has been eating his Wheaties, or whatever brand that esteemed cereal producer has contributed to modern American culture. The DeSales star keeps pummelling opponents game after game, this time travelling down south to Lebanon and laying a career high 33 for the Stallions (14-3) in their 86-72 victory Saturday night (1/26). Kellogg's point total included 3 treys. Other non-league results from this weekend included included a nice win by Hilliard Davidson (14-3) at Delaware 62-53 behind 5 treys for Grant Goodwin in the second half. Beechcroft, while enjoying a nice year at 13-4, dropped a match to Watterson 62-53 as well. Off and on Bishop Ready (9-6) won the Jaguar Classic over host Wellington 52-49, while Dublin Coffman (10-7) narrowly avoided disaster at the hands of tenacious Westland 75-72. Coffman's Michael Green scored 34 in the escape. Meanwhile, in the small school Division IV bracket Tree of Life (15-2) with 22 points from Ryan Spengler continued an impressive season 75-70 over Licking Heights and may prove a challenger to Worthington Christian and Harvest Prep come playoff time.
Please Make Them Stop -- Top ranked and undefeated Northland defeated City League North foe Linden last night (1/25) by an incredible margin of 83-16. Jared Sullinger had 20 as the Vikings moved to 16-0. Dublin Scioto is also undefeated and lodged a wicked win, 52-15 over Watkins Memorial. Watkins Memorial played stall ball the whole first half and only attempted 3 field goals, but couldn't stop Scioto opportunities. Scioto had won the teams' first league matchup 75-25. In Division II, Antonio Bumpus scored 28 and Eastmoor Academy continued to roll through the City League South and Division II with a 73-55 win over Walnut Ridge, while Canal Winchester topped Circleville 74-55 in the Mid-State Buckeye behind 14 of 19 shooting from B.J. Mullens. For the smaller schools, Harvest Prep swamped Millersport 67-35. Keeping with the blowout theme, Ready throttled Miami Valley 77-24. Not every game was an historic blowout, but many kept the train moving. Madison Plains continued its dominance in Div. III 44-36 over Greenfield McClain. Back to the big schools, we don't talk about the Golden Bears here as much as some would like, but Upper Arlington scraped out a 66-65 win on Kevin Sullivan's last second layup to keep Reynoldsburg from claiming sole possession of the OCC Buckeye roost. In the OCC Ohio, Newark pounded Gahanna 79-52 in a battle for second behind Hilliard Darby. Dublin Jerome shocked Westerville South 43-37 and moved a step closer to perhaps stealing the OCC Cardinal title with two league games to play. 2/12 Update -- Jerome indeed won its first OCC Cardinal title.
Top of the Charts --(2/12 update) -- With the majority of conference play done, let's look at the dominating teams in each division and league. Through year end (2/12) league standings were: City League North -- Northland (14-0, 19-0); Brookhaven (12-2, 16-3), Beechcroft (9-5, 13-6); City League South -- Eastmoor Academy (Div.II -14-0, 17-2); Africentric (Div. IV - 11-3, 13-6); Central Catholic League -- Worthington Christian (Div. IV - 8-1, 19-1), DeSales (Div. II - 8-1, 17-3); OCC Buckeye -- Reynoldsburg (8-2, 13-7), Hilliard Davidson (7-3, 16-4); OCC Capital -- Dublin Scioto (10-0, 19-1); New Albany (7-3, 11-9) Big Walnut (Div. II - 5-5, 11-9); OCC Cardinal -- Dublin Jerome (8-2, 14-5), Westerville South (7-3, 13-7), Olentangy (6-4, 12-8); OCC Central -- Westerville Central (9-1, 14-6), Thomas Worthington (8-2, 16-4); OCC Ohio -- Hilliard Darby (9-1, 16-3), Newark (8-2, 16-4), Gahanna (6-4, 16-4); Mid-State Buckeye -- Canal Winchester (Div. II -13-0, 18-2), Logan Elm (Div. III - 11-2, 15-4); Mid-State Ohio -- Columbus Academy (Div. III - 13-1, 16-4), Bexley (Div. III - 12-2, 16-4), Granville (Div. II 10-3, 15-4); Mid-State Cardinal -- Harvest Prep (Div. IV - 13-0, 19-1); Fisher Catholic (Div. IV - 9-3, 12-6); MOCAL -- Tree of Life (11-0, 18-2) South Central Ohio League -- Madison Plains (Div. III - 17-3).
Moneyball - (Stats revised through 2/11, end of regular season) - For the statmeisters, let's review the end of season local leaders. These are gleaned from the major contending local teams with suffient games or attempts, with no offense meant to any unrecognized players with close or similar numbers. Scoring --- (19+ games) JR Weston, Ridgedale 27.4, Thomas, Buckeye Valley 26.6, B.J. Mullens, Canal Winchester 26.2, Chris Johnson, Brookhaven 26.2, Kellogg, DeSales 22.1, Bumpus, Eastmoor Academy 21.7, Beatley, Columbus Academy 21.5, Hecker, Worthington Christian 21.3, Sullinger, Northland 20.5; Rebounds -- Mullens, Canal Winchester 14.6, Sullinger, Northland 12.4, Woods, Eastmoor Academy 11.7, Williams, East 11.6, Lokas, Worthington Kilbourne 11.3, Roesch, Fisher Catholic 10.5, Ariguzo, DeSales 10.3, Thomas, Buckeye Valley 10.2, Faulkner, Madison Plains 10.1; Field Goal % (100+ attempts) -- Mullens, Canal Winchester .702, Sullinger, Northland .670, Furno, Whetstone .648, Kasberg, Buckeye Valley .636; Gorniak, Dublin Scioto .634, Chris Johnson, Brookhaven .630, Smith, Grove City.620; Total 3 Pointers (with %; 40+ and over .400) -- T. Joseph, Worthington Christian 73 (.432), Severns, Mt. Vernon 67 (.404), Congrove, Logan Elm 59 (.404), Meadows, Africentric 58 (.480), Lindquist, Worthington Kilbourne 54 (.420), Ute, Elgin 48 (.432); Goins, Marysville 47 (.439), Goodwin, Hilliard Davidson 46 (.412), Edwards, Delaware 45 (.450), Hobbs, Thomas Worthington 42 (.404); Free Throw % (70+) -- Dierks, Licking Valley (.920), Milholland, Marysville (.875), Goodwin, Hilliard Davidson (.859), Congrove, Logan Elm (.856), Fletcher, Westerville South (.856), Hill, Jonathan Alder (.808), JR Weston, Ridgedale (.800), A.Jackson, Westland (.783), Stucky, Dublin Coffman (.780), D.Jackson, Westland (.775), Thomas, Buckeye Valley (.771), Huff, Jonathan Alder (.770), Kellogg, DeSales (.765).