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http://www.columbussports.com/content/writers/dave_herd/roundball-roundup----ups-and-downs.shtmlRoundball Roundup -- Ups and Downs
Local prep teams rising and falling at crunch time.
As One Ends, Another Will Begin-- 1/31 -- Canton Timken 67, Northland 61 (OT) -- Fear not fans, this had to happen sometime. The No. 1 ranked Northland Vikings (13-1), recognized in the polls nationally as well, finally had their 58 game regular season win streak stopped at the hands of a strong Timken team (11-1) on the road in overtime Saturday night. Jared Porrini, a name to be filed away for tournament time, was the giant killer with 23 for the Trojans. His brother junior Cory Porrini, both transfers this year, also added 15 while 6'8" Cameron Howard, Timken's normal leader, added 11 boards and 12 points. Jared Sullinger, who is a future Buckeye, still managed 17 points despite a bum ankle he has been nursing recently. Trey Burke added 15 for the Vikings. In reality, this is probably only a minor blow for Northland and mainly to the ego. However a big makeup game looms quickly with Beechcroft, and that is the more important game in the estimation of most local observers, given its impact on the City League North, still led by Northland to date. Northland had defeated East in league the night before, 59-42 with Xavier recruit JD Weatherspoon scoring 21. ***(UPDATE -- I'll report on this in the next column, but Northland did rebound to beat Beechcroft 80-73 on 2/2.)*** Independence 65, Marion-Franklin 57 (OT) -- A killer for the Red Devils, who just can't seem to get a win in the extra frame. Independence moved to 9-5, 7-2 behind Greg Dawson's 20 points. Dawson dominated the overtime, where Marion-Franklin (8-5, 5-4) was held to 4 points. DeJuan McGaughy and Elijah Macon had 15 and 13 respectively for the talented but hard luck Red Devils. Beechcroft 67, Whetstone 59 -- This was a good building block for Beechcroft (13-1, 8-1) over a good Whetstone team as the Cougars enter into their upcoming match with Northland. Josh Gouch was the main man for Beechcroft, scoring 24, while Tanner Furno of Whetstone was held to 13. Thomas Worthington 55, Dublin Coffman 47 -- Thomas Worthington (6-9, 5-5) has been playing some good roundball of late, including a win over Upper Arlington, and the Cardinals came through again big in the OCC Central Friday night riding an 18-7 first quarter and then holding off league leader Coffman (12-2, 8-1). DeSales 72, Worthington Christian 55 -- While it's nice to have Worthington Christian (10-4, 3-3) in the Central Catholic League, the Warriors are a Division IV squad and know it's going to be tough going against bigger schools like DeSales (12-2, 6-0). Friday was no different as the Warriors fell to the Stallions for the second time this year. Nick Kellogg hit four treys with 22 total points for DeSales, which limited Brian Hecker to 13 points. Other Weekend Action -- Newark 57, Groveport 47; New Albany 57, Olentangy Orange 55; Reynoldsburg 57, Pickerington North 53; Hartley 58, Ready 55; Upper Arlington 54, Hilliard Darby 28: Mt. Vernon 48, Franklin Heights 46; Hilliard Davidson 65, Central Crossing 61; Dublin Scioto 51, Westerville North 34; Eastmoor Academy 83, West 58; Harvest Prep 82, Grandview 73; Canal Winchester 71, Fairfield Union 59. Also, let's just say that Grove City (13-1, 8-1) hit the "bi-centennial" by scoring 100 against Lancaster Friday and 104 against Toledo Woodward Saturday. The Greyhounds are led by impressive center Jon Smith (35 total weekend points) and Ryan Cosgray (47 total weekend points).
City League Blizzard -- 1/28 -- Eastmoor Academy 83, Marion-Franklin 78 (3 OT) -- Neither snow nor ice could stop the dribbling ball Tuesday night, as the battle royale in the City League South saw Eastmoor (8-4, 7-1) increase its league lead despite a stalwart effort by Marion-Franklin (8-4, 5-3). The Red Devils would have tied the Warriors for first had they pulled out this triple overtime thriller, but unfortunately there was not quite enough in the Red Devils' tank at the end of an exhausting night. It was the second victory over the year for Eastmoor over rival Marion-Franklin, the first being 70-61 on the south side back on December 19. Once again Doug Thorpe (29 points in the first game) led the Warriors, this time with 22, the same number teammate Michael Lester tallied. Alex Coleman had 15 for Eastmoor, as did Matt Ryan. DeJuan McGaughy led the Red Devils with 21 and Jeremy McCoy had 18, while fab freshman center Elijah McCoy netted 15 as Marion-Franklin lost a 27-21 halftime lead on the road. McGaughy swished 4 from behind the arc in the loss. Whetstone 66, Brookhaven 57 -- It was a winter wonderland in Clintonville Tuesday as Whetstone (8-5, 6-2) continued its promising season with a win over City League North opponent Brookhaven. Whetstone also won the first matchup 49-42 on 12/19 through a massive fourth quarter. This time star center Tanner Furno of Whetstone led all scorers with 26 while Terrance Watkins of Brookhaven, never far from the headlines, had 20. Northland 62, Centennial 45 -- Coach Satch Sullinger sat his OSU recruit son Jared Tuesday with a sprained ankle, but it did not deter consensus #1 Northland (12-0, 8-0) from notching another league victory behind another strong game from Dimonde Hale, who totalled 18 points. Northland looks now to its matchup with Canton Timken, which also plays Marion-Franklin a week later. Beechcroft 73, Mifflin 68 -- The record doesn't show it, but this has been a week of heart and guts by Mifflin (1-10, 1-7). First the Punchers took Division IV state runner-up Worthington Christian to the wire this weekend, and then Tuesday night played a valiant game on the road against a City League North powerhouse in Beechcroft (12-1, 7-1). A Beechcroft 15-1 second half run sealed the Punchers' fate, but Mifflin had led at the half and kept it close late. Dominique Freeman led the Cougars and all scorers with 28. Africentric 57, West 55 (OT) -- When you're a small school like Africentric (5-8, 4-4), every game against a bigger school is key, especially against league foes like West (4-9, 3-5). With the win Africentric kept up hopes that it can compete well in the Division IV tournament, having gained experience all year against bigger schools. Brent Clark and Paul Crump had 17 and 16 respectively for the Nubians. OCC Notes -- Pickerington Central 66, Pickerington North 65 -- This was a match for rivalry pride in the OCC Ohio, and the hero was Isac Franklin of Central (7-6, 5-4). Franklin banged home three threes in the last minute and had 18 total points, leading Central's 17-8 fourth quarter dominance. Newark 49, Reynoldsburg 43 -- Newark (12-2, 7-1) kept up the heat at the top of the OCC Ohio with this close come from behind victory as Rahlin Watson had 17 and Cody Dennison and Ryan Dierks 13 apiece. Grove City 76, Groveport 45 -- The OCC Ohio remains tough, though, as Grove City (12-1, 8-1) stayed one win ahead on the strength of 32 points by leading center Jon Smith. OCC Also -- Dublin Coffman 69, Westland 65; Upper Arlington 75, Worthington Kilbourne 51; Thomas Worthington 73, Hilliard Davidson 72 (OT); Olentangy Orange 66, Big Walnut 65 (OT); Dublin Scioto 47, Westerville South 45 -- Scioto (13-1, 9-0) needed a fourth quarter surge and 17 by Rainer Duzan to narrowly defeat OCC Cardinal contender Westerville South (10-4, 7-2), which would have tied for the league lead had it kept its third quarter lead.
Weekend Update 1/26 -- Hot Dog, Rising Stars!!! -- Not all is fine and dandy for the area's premiere high school basketball squads, and I'll have plenty to say about the downtrending teams in a minute. Let's start with some good news, though -- there are a number of favorites and lesser knowns riding high, starting off with state Division I AP No. 1 Northland. The Vikings (11-0, 7-0) are rolling on through the City League North after plowing through San Diego (CA) High recently and Memphis (TN) White Station earlier in the year. The latest win for Jared Sullinger, JD Weatherspoon, Trey Burke and the gang was a 63-48 defeat of North division rival Brookhaven on Friday night. The game was not really even as close as the score. It was 51-29 after three, with Dimonde Hale joining the star ranks with a team high 20. In a feelgood story, though, Terrance Watkins continued his stellar season with 24 points for Brookhaven. Other City League powerhouses right now include Beechcroft (11-1, 6-1, two weekend wins) in the North and Eastmoor Academy (7-4, 6-1, two weekend wins) and Marion-Franklin (8-3, 5-2) in the South. Beechcroft did have its first scheduled game with Northland postponed for ice and school closure, so the teams have a duo of dandies coming up that will put Beechcroft to the test. Meanwhile, Dominique Freeman and his supporting cast push forward, defeating Centennial 77-64 and Licking Valley 70-56 with Freeman leading the scoring in both (20 and 14 respectively). Alex Coleman and Eastmoor have rebounded from some early losses to lead the South, and narrowly beat Independence 58-57 and then Johnstown more convincingly 76-32. Marion-Franklin has had some disappointments but has steered the ship straight now and boasts tremendous athleticism and talent in Mike Guyton, Nate Spears, Jeremy McCoy, DeJuan McGaughy and Elijah Macon. Wait, that's a whole starting team! And that's exactly why the Red Devils, who beat South foe Walnut Ridge 67-54 on McGaughy's 16 Friday, are a big threat in the South. Marion-Franklin still has to play a rescheduled matchup at home 2/7 with state power Canton Timken shortly, but it won't factor into the City League standings of course. Northland also travels to Timken on 1/31. OCC and Others -- The far-flung OCC has a number of good teams going right now, though none looking incredibly dominant at this point in the way Northland does. Still, balls are bouncing well for Dublin Coffman, Dublin Scioto, Newark and Grove City. Some of the wins have been narrow, however, and belie the gaudy win-loss records of these teams. Scioto (12-1, 8-0), for example, barely got by a 6-6 Olentangy team 65-64 Friday night on a miracle trey by Bradley McDougald. Scioto had led 24-0 early. Coffman (11-1, 8-0) also needed some late scoring from Joey Phelan to beat Central Crossing, which is 3-5 in the OCC Central. On the other hand, last year's Division I State champ Newark (11-2, 6-1) buzzed through a strong Gahanna team, one which has given the Wildcats fits recently. Newark led 22-8 initially and rode 16 from center Dane Kopp. Grove City (11-1, 7-1) beat a strong OCC Ohio foe in Reynoldsburg (9-4, 5-3) as center Jon Smith continues his domination, this time with 10 boards and 22 points. Elsewhere, the upward trendes include a bunch of usual suspect in Division II squads DeSales and Canal Winchester, Grandview Heights in Division III. However, DeSales (11-2, 5-0) had to rally to beat Watterson Friday in the Central Catholic League 51-50 on Adam Griffin's late free throw in two OT's after a big Stallions rally to tie it in regulation. Grandview finds itself 10-2 after dominating 90-28 at Millersport, and Canal Winchester (10-2, 7-0) rolled again 79-53 over league squad Amanda-Clearcreek.
Cold Cuts -- Stocks Dropping -- The area's recent roundball has also seen some stumbles from early season favorites, though many should still be in good shape for tournament time. The most obvious fallen star, which hit close to home, is Upper Arlington. The Golden Bears (11-3) had been undefeated and AP #2 in Division I just two weeks ago but fell on hard times with three close losses to Coffman, New Albany and Thomas Worthington. The last two losses were on three pointers at the buzzer, one by Chase Sutton of New Albany and one by Thomas Worthington's Nick Girardi. The Cardinals (5-9, 4-5) are better than their record and took UA to OT earlier in the year. UA then rebounded with Kevin Sullivan's free throw shooting Saturday night to win a non-league game over 60-53 Bexley, which itself is struggling through a bad period, falling to 6-5 despite 25 from Julian Coleman. In Division III, early favorite Madison Plains barely beat Washington Court House and then experienced a mid-season setback to rival London 58-54. Madison Plains had led 47-36 entering the last quarter. Matthew McCollister was held to 8 points by London though he posted 31 points, 12 assists, 3 steals and 5 rebounds against Washington C.H. Small school dandy Worthington Christian is weathering a bit of a slump too, but should be back to form for the Division IV tournament. The Warriors (10-3, 3-2) fell in the CCL 59-45 to Hartley (8-4, 4-2) Friday night in a big blow to any league championship hopes. Brian Hecker again led with 25 for Worthington Christian, which had both a seven point halftime lead and a complete second half collapse. One night later, the Warriors needed OT to beat a struggling 1-9 Mifflin squad 60-59 as Hecker had 20. Still, we expect all of these teams to compete hard in the post-season despite the recent misfortunes. The market's gotta rise some day, right?!?