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Published February 18, 2009 Roundball Roundup -- Down the StretchTHE LINKS BELOW NOW HAVE THE BRACKETS POSTED FOR THE 2009 DIVISIONS I-IV CENTRAL DISTRICT TOURNAMENTS 
Tanner Furno of Whetstone is having a great year, but Northland's is better.
Last Call -- (2/17) -- Local teams were finishing up business Tuesday night heading into this weekend's finales, and here are some of the better games and highlights ... Marion-Franklin 72, Brookhaven 68 -- The Red Devils (14-6) raced to a big lead in this inter-division City League game and then braced themselves against a big comeback by north division Brookhaven (11-8) at Marion-Franklin on the south side. However, despite a 29-21 fourth quarter the Bearcats could not muster enough to overcome a 12 point deficit heading into the final frame. Terrance Watkins again led Brookhaven, a traditional city power that has struggled this year, with 25 points. Freshman 6'8" center Elijah Macon scored just 6 inside for the Red Devils, but Jeremy McCoy had 18 while DeJuan McGaughy netted 20. Marion-Franklin is paired with Upper Arlington and Newark, which suffered the departure of 6'8" Dane Kopp from the team, in its Division I Central District Tournament sub-bracket. Canal Winchester 72, Bloom Carroll 71 (3 OT) -- Canal (15-4, 11-2) was trying to rebound from its reeling loss to MSL Buckeye leader Logan Elm last week when the Indians ran into tough host Bloom Carroll (11-8, 8-5) Tuesday night in league action. This time, though, the Indians had enough gas to get through the three extras as Darian Catharn again proved his leadership with 24 points, half of them in the fourth quarter. Olentangy 53, Thomas Worthington 52 -- This one is not so notable for the teams' records (9-10 for the victors, 8-12 for the tough-luck Cards) as for the amazing comeback the Braves generated on their home court. Olentangy trailed by 20 at one point in the fourth and had suffered a 16-0 Th. Worthington run to enter halftime. No fear, as the Cards went on a 22-2 tear to end the game on Matt Huter's free throws. Ty Craig had 16 and Hutter 14 for Olentangy. Readers of this column know that I've been preaching all year that Thomas Worthington is often underestimated and better than their record, but the Cards unfortunately simply fell apart Tuesday night. Whetstone 76, Briggs 52 -- Briggs kept this inter-league game close in the first half, but Tanner Furno and company of impressive Whetstone (13-7) pulled away as the 6'8" star center netted 28. Furno earlier scored 50 on Saturday though his Braves needed three OTs to beat struggling Centennial 104-89. The big man, who has put on weight to get to 190 lb., also had 13 boards and 10 blocks in that game. Furno has struggled, however, as his team was clobbered by local leaders Northland and Beechcroft earlier in the year. The Braves are enjoying a good season but need to be less one-dimensional to advance in the tournament. Independence 60, Mifflin 59 -- I highlight this because Independence (13-7) is widely thought to be a sleeper, and because Mifflin is 3-17 now to end the regular season. Nonetheless, Mifflin has played many teams very tight and tough all year and should have no loss in pride, especially after forcing Independence to win at the last second on Greg Dawkins' basket and free throw. Dawkins had 26 but his squad needed a 14 point second half comeback against the Punchers. Harvest Prep 78, Fisher Catholic 45 -- These are not teams we've highlighted this year, but they are both integral to the Division IV local tournament scene. Unfortunately, Fisher Catholic (13-6, 11-2) played without its star center Luke Roesch, who goes 6'6" and averages 19 points and 10 boards. Roesch sprained his ankle over the weekend, and the injury no doubt helped the success of Harvest Prep (13-5, 11-2), which gained a three way MSL Cardinal tie with Fisher and Grandview. Nehemiah Trotter had 21 and Derelle Mathis 21 for Harvest, which previously lost to Fisher this year. Other Scores -- Whitehall 70, Bexley 52 -- The Rams' 1-17 record entering the game didn't dissuade Whitehall from dismantling neighbor Bexley Tuesday night. Next Wednesday Whitehall will face Amanda-Clearcreek (4-15) in the Division II Central District Tournament. Ready 42, Jonathan Alder 28; Westerville Central 58, Big Walnut 53; Westerville North 58, Hilliard Davidson 50; Olentangy Liberty 56, New Albany 45 (OT). 
Jared Sullinger has Northland at the top seed
Tournament Talk (Div. I) -- 2/15 -- The regular season conferences races are winding down as the OHSAA boys basketball district tournaments start a week from Tuesday. Northland and Eastmoor are the respective north and south City League champs and will face each other in the City League final at Mifflin later this week. Despite one loss to Canton Timken on the road, Northland is still seen by many as the favorite to win the Division I state tournament title, and has the No. 1 seed in the Division I Central District tournament. Marion-Franklin of the south division is rebounding from its loss to Timken, scoring in bunches, and may be a Central District tournament force given its play of late and its bracket pairings. If the Red Devils can net an opening win, they will likely draw a game with 2008 champ Newark, which just saw the departure from its squad of 6'8" Dane Kopp. Also in the bracket is Upper Arlington (15-4,10-3), which has struggled of late (losing badly to Hilliard Davidson 62-44 on Friday) and yielded the OCC Central to Dublin Coffman (16-3, 12-1), Coffman is in a bracket with powerful Beechcroft and its City League rival Brookhaven. Dublin Scioto (17-1) has the OCC Cardinal wrapped up and is going strong on great defense. The Irish like their chances with a bracket that includes Davidson, Reynoldsburg and Walnut Ridge. Grove City (17-2, 11-2) is looking strong in the OCC Ohio race despite pesky competition from Newark still. Ryan Cosgray and Jon Smith continue to lead the Greyhounds, who have a #3 seed in the district tournament. Odds and Ends -- Division II in the MSL Buckeye, Saturday night saw a crucial matchup in which Tim Congrove and Brandon Amann led Logan Elm (17-1, 11-1) to its second season victory over Canal Winchester (14-4, 10-2). Congrove had 18 and Amann 17 for the Braves, who look to take the league title and got a step closer. Due to a quirk of the drawing lines, Logan Elm is not actually in the Central District for tournament time. Worthington Christian still looks strong for Division IV, though Newark Catholic pulled the No.1 seed, and Hartley owns the top seed in D III with Madison Plains on its heels. DeSales is the No.1 seed in Division II to the surprise of none. 
Morgan Cornwell led Hartley over favorite DeSales.
DeSales Derailed -- 2/8 -- Hartley 66, DeSales 65 (OT) -- It was a fantastic Friday night at Hartley (12-4,6-2) as Morgan Cornwell, Ben Seifert and company narrowly defeated Central Catholic League favorite DeSales (13-3, 7-1) in overtime by a point. Cornwell continued his great play by scoring 18 against the Stallions and Seifert, a great outside shooter, had two treys en route to 16 points, adding nine rebounds and four steals to his totals. Seifert nailed a three pointer near the end to force overtime. Nick Goff had 20 for the Stallions. Despite the loss, DeSales maintains a game lead in the CCL, and defeated Hartley in the first match on Jan. 9, 53-48. Hartley gained the No.1 seed in the Division III Central District Tournament. *** Update -- Hartley was since defeated on Monday night by Olentangy Liberty, but the game obviously has no effect on the CCL or the seedings already in place. Gahanna 76, Grove City 65 -- This was an even bigger upset by the Lions (12-4, 6-4) and it was thanks to Rob Brandenberg, Stevie Taylor, Ian Taylor and Justin McDowell. All four played big parts in the OCC Ohio win for Gahanna, with Brandenberg leading the way with 21. Grove City (15-2, 10-2) led by 3 at halftime but could not keep up with its season pace of 82 points a game, and could not keep up with the relentless Gahanna defense. Gahanna held the Greyhounds' leaders Jon Smith and Ryan Cosgray to 13 apiece. Beechcroft 84, Brookhaven 76 -- Despite its loss last Monday to Northland, Beechcroft (15-2, 10-2) came back to play like a top team at home against rival Brookhaven (9-7, 7-5) after falling behind at halftime. Dominique Freeman was held to 6 points by Brookhaven but it didn't matter, as Josh Gouch scored 33 to continue barrages of late. Brookhaven star Terrance Watkins had 23 in the loss. Canton Timken 90, Marion-Franklin 76 -- For the second time in a week, state power Timken took down a City League team. This time it was down on the south side at Marion-Franklin (11-6), but the Red Devils did not go down without a fight. Unfortunately, a tight first half unravelled in a 22-7 Timken third quarter, and even 20 by DeJuan McGaughy and 17 by Jeremy McCoy were not enough to salvage the game for Marion-Franklin. Once again, as in the Northland win, Timken was led by Jared Porrini (18), Cory Porrini (15) and Cameron Howard (16). Other Weekend Finals -- Pickerington Central 62, Dublin Coffman 61; Upper Arlington 75, Westland 50; Dublin Scioto 52, Olentangy Liberty 38; Newark 62, Pickerington Central 54; Canal Winchester 61, Circleville 39; Logan Elm 68, Fairfield Union 48; Grandview 63, Licking Heights 40; Heath 55, Newark Catholic 52; Greenfield McClain 71, Madison Plains 42; Dublin Coffman 47, Hilliard Davidson 45 (Fri.); Franklin Heights 50, Olentangy Orange 45; Westerville South 53, Westerville North 49; Africentric 49, Independence 45; Eastmoor Academy 69, Walnut Ridge 47; Worthington Christian 56, St. Charles 53; Watterson 49, Ready 44. 
Josh Gouch scored 42 for Beechcroft last Tuesday after 20 against Northland.
City League Situation -- 2/4 -- Northland (15-1, 11-0) is now down to No.2 in the State Division I AP poll after losing a heartbreaker to Canton Timken in overtime Saturday night, but the Vikings put it into gear Monday and Tuesday nights in defeating City League North second placer Beechcroft (14-2, 8-2) 80-73 and then upstart Whetstone 55-40. JD Weatherspoon and Jared Sullinger had 20 and 19 respectively and held Tanner Furno of Whetstone to 13. Furno had scored 38 the night before in beating Mifflin, which despite its poor record has been a tough squad of late. Northland ended a streak of five games in a week at 4-1, still atop the conference and still the favorite to win the district and perhaps -- gasp -- State!! The Vikings would have to stumble twice to lose the lead in the North, so even an upset loss at Beechcroft would not disturb the universe, it would just stir up the hornets' nest. Beechcroft rebounded from their loss to Northland by defeating Linden 95-78 with 42 points by Josh Gouch, who had 20 the night before as well. The City League South is where it is starting to get messy right now, and it came to a head Tuesday night at Africentric (7-9, 6-5) as the Nubians, a Division IV school, took down league leader Eastmoor (10-5, 9-2) on strong play by Breaker Heller whose late layup and 18 total sealed the 59-57 win. The Warriors fell a game down but still a game over rising Independence (10-6, 8-3), which beat South 83-48. Marion-Franklin (9-5, 6-4) kept itself in the rear-view mirror by putting six players in double digits (and eight with 8 or more points) in a 103-59 home defeat of Briggs on Tuesday. Freshman center Elijah Macon led with 23. Marion-Franklin has an upcoming date with noted state power Canton Timken, the recent Viking slayer. Rematch!!! -- OCC Ohio -- Grove City 59, Newark 56 -- Grove City (15-1, 10-1) rode a 21-16 fourth quarter to grab the lead and the season split against league rival and defending Division I state champ Newark (13-2, 8-2). The Greyhounds played good defense and relied once again on Ryan Cosgray (15) and center Jon Smith (14) to snatch the OCC Ohio lead. DeSales (14-2, 7-0) strengthened its lead in the Central Catholic League by downing Ready 76-52 in a game that saw Nick Kellogg's 1000th career point. Dublin Scioto (15-1, 11-0) dominated inside and remained atop the OCC Cardinal by beating Westerville Central (10-5, 6-5) 58-45 despite a 26-18 fourth by Central. Bradley McDougald had 13 for Scioto. Other scores -- Teays Valley 70, Canal Winchester 60; Upper Arlington 57, Central Crossing 53; Thomas Worthington 52, Westland 50; Olentangy Orange 58, Watkins Memorial 27; Gahanna 65, Pickerington North 46; Worthington Christian 58, Watterson 53; Madison Plains 78, Cedarville 60 (2/3); Madison Plains 66, Miami Trace 45 (2/4); Gahanna 71, Mifflin 59 (2/4); Grandview 62, Horizon Science 47 (2/4); Lakewood 62, Newark Catholic 50 (2/4).
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