ColumbusSports.com
http://www.columbussports.com/content/writers/dave_herd/roundball-roundup----new-year-notes.shtmlRoundball Roundup -- New Year Notes
Local notables include Upper Arlington, Northland, Dublin Coffman, Dublin Scioto, Worthington Christian, Grove City and Newark .
Golden Moments -- (1/6) -- Upper Arlington 76, Westland 48 -- Going on the road against an enigmatic Westland team did not faze the Golden Bears, who moved to 9-0, 5-0 on the year leading into upcoming games against Hilliard Davidson (home on Saturday) and Dublin Coffman. Westland fell behind early and saw its deficit at 60-32 after three. Brian Sullivan was the game leader with 4 three pointers and 29 total points for Upper Arlington, while brother Kevin added 12 and insider Akram Hidmi 13. With a somewhat down season for the OCC Central in general (as opposed to say the OCC Ohio) Arlington must be careful not to let its guard down in the coming week against Davidson and Coffman, which played each other Tuesday night as follows . . . Dublin Coffman 70, Hilliard Davidson 60 -- Despite 19 points from Grant Goodwin and 18 from Tyler Backstrom, plus a three point lead going into the fourth, Hilliard Davidson (4-4, 3-2) could not hang on against host Coffman (7-1, 5-0) Tuesday night. Michael Green scored 9 points in the final frame for Coffman and teammate Christian Heine totalled 19 for the game. Grove City 92, Gahanna 77 -- This big OCC Ohio battle went to the Dawgs, and it was mainly courtesy of Ryan Cosgray, who had 14 boards and 27 points to lead Grove City (7-1, 4-1). Gahanna (7-2, 3-2) gave it a great shot through the tough play of Rob Brandenberg (31) and Stevie Taylor (22). Newark 69, Pickerington Central 63 -- The defending state champs needed a fourth quarter comeback to take this OCC Ohio matchup. Licking Valley transfer Ryan Dierks again provided the spark for Newark (7-2, 4-1) with 24 points. Franklin Heights 65, Olentangy Orange 62 -- A strong game from a first year team in Orange (6-2, 4-1), but a disappointing loss after a good season start nonetheless. Franklin Heights improved to 6-2, 3-1 in the OCC Capital behind Peter Ivory, who scored 21. Orange was led again by Worthington Christian transfer Zack Joseph, who helped the WC Warriors advance to the Division IV state title game last year but then left the program for the challenge of leading a new, bigger school in the OCC. Joseph netted 26 with 4 three pointers and eight free throws, but Orange blew a 6 point halftime lead. Joseph's old team, Worthington Christian, trounced Columbus Academy 75-47 on Brian Hecker's 23 to remain the top local Division IV team. Dublin Scioto 58, Olentangy Liberty 35 -- Scioto (8-1) was great on defense once again, which is good because the offense is still lagging a bit, but not enough to prevent a 23 point victory at home Tuesday night. Bradley McDougald and Marco St. John each had 10 in a balanced attack. Also -- Reynoldsburg 70, Groveport 62; Westerville South 46, Westerville North 42; Big Walnut 55, New Albany 47; Bexley 71, Liberty Union 43; Madison Plains 58, West Jefferson 51 -- In a game from Wednesday 1/7, Madison Plains (7-1)rebounded after its recent first loss with 24 points including 4 treys and 8 free throws from Matthew McCollister.
City League Scores (1/6) -- Beast in the East -- Northland 73, East 49 -- Not a surprising result for the top ranked team in Division I in the state in undefeated Northland, but East had hoped for better in opening its new gym. It's a wonderful facility, but it could not make up for the disparity between the two teams. Jared Sullinger netted 27 in the win for Northland and JD Weatherspoon had 18. East actually led by 2 after the first but Northland rode a 21-6 second quarter. Independence 60, Marion-Franklin 46 -- The Red Devils lost out on a good opportunity to right the ship in the City League South by dropping this one to Independence. Marion-Franklin must now play powerhouse Timken on Saturday in a non-league contest. Jeremy McCoy and Nate Spears were limited to 6 points apiece by Independence, which earlier in the season flexed its muscles by defeating my alma mater, Cincinnati Wyoming. Eastmoor Academy 59, West 42 -- Antoine McDaniel's 26 points could not salvage West as Eastmoor (3-2, 3-0) rocketed to a 33-10 halftime lead and never looked back. Beechcroft 72, Whetstone 65 -- The Cougars improved to 7-0, 3-0 by defeating Whetstone (3-4, 2-1) and star center Tanner Furno who had 18. Beechcroft had eight players with at least 6 points. Also -- Brookhaven 70, Centennial 47; Africentric 66, South 35; Walnut Ridge 68, Briggs 61.
Meet the New Year, Same as the Old Year -- (1/2) -- Dublin Scioto 41, Mt. Vernon 29 -- It's not Groundhog Day yet, but the Dublin Scioto Irish may be feeling a little like Bill Murray after their latest double take repeat of a close win on Friday night. Scioto (7-1) a local OCC Division I favorite, has been living dangerously as of late, and things did not end at home against Mt. Vernon. There was little in the way of offense as Bradley McDougald was limited to 4 points, but Marco St. John managed 10 for the Irish and Jamare Mills scored 18 off the bench to salvage the win. Ben Severns as always led the way for Mt. Vernon, contributing over half the offense with 15 points as his team stayed close at 27-22 after three quarters. Severns is enjoying a good senior year after a second team OCC season with 16.5 ppg and 45% from beyond the arc last year as a junior. Akron Hoban 62, Whetstone 50 -- This was a tough one to swallow for an up and coming City League team in Whetstone, as the Braves fell to 3-2 on the year. Both losses have been to impressive squads in Gahanna and now Hoban, while Whetstone was previously able to get the best of Brookhaven, Linden and Wattterson. Despite tough later play, the Braves could not overcome the devastation of a 24-8 opening quarter lead by Hoban. Center Tanner Furno was again the key player for Whetstone with 12 points. Small School Shoutouts -- Mechanicsburg 78, West Jefferson 53 -- OK, let's give some love to an outlying small school tonight, and this time we're not talking Madison Plains or Worthington Christian. Mechanicsburg put on an outside shooting hoops clinic Friday night at home against struggling West Jefferson, which was saved only by football QB star DJ Mendenhall's 16 points. Mechanicsburg led by 16 at half and 64-39 after three, and was paced by Aaron Brown (19, 5 treys) as well as Alex Huffman (21, 5 treys) and Andy Huffman (11, 3 treys). (1/3) North Union 47, Ready 45 (OT) -- A strong and steady team from Richwood in Union County is making itself known in Division III, this time against Ready (3-3) of the Central Catholic League on Saturday. North Union is 7-0 now but had to rely on a 15 foot jump shot at the end of Overtime by Klarke Ransome to squeak out the win. Ransome had 15 on the night. Bear Market --Upper Arlington 80, Centerburg 48 -- Another victory, but sometimes we have to scratch our heads and ask why particular games are scheduled. For whatever the underlying reasons were for playing this non-league contest on the road, the Golden Bears (8-0, 4-0) pocketed another nice, easy win but now must face OCC Central foes Westland, Davidson and Coffman in a row in a true test of team mettle. Centerburg was crushed 24-8 in the second quarter while UA relied upon Brian Sullivan (21) and Kevin Sullivan (15). However, Centerburg still stands at 6-2 and may be a force in local Division III ball. Other Scores -- Newark 61, Westerville South 44 -- Newark, the defending Division I champs, led by 7 at the half and had 16 from transfer Ryan Dierks in the victory. Cody Dennison had 10 points and 5 rebounds as well for Newark. Watterson 73, Canal Winchester 69 (2OT) -- Canal Winchester (6-1) suffered its first loss despite best efforts and 20 points from Jarmod Woodley. Canal lost at home despite a 23-18 halftime lead. The leaders for Watterson (6-2) were Andy Winters (19) and Mike Tighe (18). Dublin Coffman 72, Toledo Waite 62 -- Coffman (6-1) handed Toledo Waite (7-1) its first loss Saturday night in Dublin as Michael Green had 21 points and 12 boards. Coffman broke it open in the second quarter and led at the break by 13. Gahanna 49, Hilliard Darby 38; Westerville Central 84, Olentangy 66; Clinton-Massie 69, Madison Plains 61 -- Madison Plains dropped its first game if the year on Saturday but is still seen by most as the local Division III favorite, while Grandview picked up another win 56-55 over Fairfield Union and may also be in the picture come playoff time.