By Kurt Stubbs (OHSHoops.com/jjhuddle.com)
Dominating! That is one word that could be used to describe Saturday night’s main attraction at Ohio State’s Scholastic Play-by-Play Classic inside Value City Arena.
Columbus Northland started strong, continued strong and finished strong en route to an 88-67 thumping of two-time defending Indiana 2A State Champions, Bishop Luers (IN).
Though, the game was disappointing, Ohio State signee Deshaun Thomas was not scoring a game-high 36 points and grabbing nine rebounds on 11-of-21 shooting. The strong lefty knocked down 5-of-10 triples and 9-of-11 at the charity stripe.
However, it was Northland’s night with 6-foot-9 Jared Sullinger leaving little doubt on the outcome early on scoring 18 points and snaring seven boards in the first half. Sullinger’s offensive output was a collection of dunks, offensive put backs, and two three-balls one coming at the end of the first quarter from the right wing nearly 24-feet out. In all, the ‘Big Smooth’ netted 24 poiunts, nine rebounds and three assists.
Sullinger’s teammate and best friend, junior Trey Burke, was spectacular dropping 23 points and handing out seven assists to just one turnover. The Penn State commit is in total control on the floor giving the Vikings a true floor general that is rarely seen in today’s basketball era.
Ohio State signee J.D. Sullinger was able to attain eight points and five rebounds despite playing just 18 minutes due to first half foul trouble. Sullinger scored off several alley-oop dunks that pleased the crowd of 5,500 spectators hoping to get a glimpse of things to come.
For the Vikings, they improve to (11-0) and did nothing this week to prove they aren’t worthy of the USA Today’s No. 1 ranking. But for Sullinger and his teammates it is just about ‘smiling and having fun.’
“We have fun out there and don’t take things too serious,” the Ohio State signee and nation’s No. 1 big man stated. “We love the game of basketball, but you need to have fun doing it and keep a smile on your face. It is like having a girlfriend and telling her you love her but never smile around her. What are your actions showing if you don’t smile at her?”
It was an interesting analogy, but one we won’t soon forget.
Northland, who jumped out to a 28-12 lead after one quarter and a 51-28 advantage by the break, dominated the paint outscoring Luers 50-22 underneath.
The Vikings also held a distinct advantage in terms of bench points (24-4) and fast break counters (18-4).
Northland shot an astounding 78.6 percent in the 1st half on 22-of-28 shooting and finished the game making 66 percent of its shots. Luers, in comparison, shot a smidge less than 41 percent for the game.
Dayton Jefferson 66 Harvest Prep 56
In the day’s opener, Dayton Jefferson and Harvest Prep squared off in a D-IV showdown at the 8th Annual Scholastic Play-by-Play Classic with the Broncos of Jefferson overcoming an early 13-point deficit to pull out a 66-56 triumph.
This may be the first of two meetings between the two teams with the second occuring on March 27th for the D-IV state title. But that is then, and this is now.
6-foot-10 Michigan State signee Adreian Payne slammed home a posterizing one-handed jam in the 2nd quarter that woke the Broncos up from a deep 1st quarter snooze. Payne’s dunk was just a first of many as the Jefferson big man finished with 21 points, 18 rebounds, five assists, and three blocks.
Both teams were down a main player with Shakir Dunning for Prep on crutches and Cody Latimer of Jefferson still suffering from a concussion and a bum shoulder.
Sophomore lefty Devin Foster aided Payne’s effort with 19 points and five rebounds, junior Joby Jackson tossed in 11 and four along with senior Irving Wood adding nine points.
6-foot-5 junior Geron Tate, a Westerville South transfer, led Prep with 20 points and six rebounds, and Grant Harris finished with 10 counters. Senior JQ Austin was good for six points and eight boards and sophomore guard Adam McCall contributed seven points, three boards, and three dimes.
Westerville South 55 Logan Elm 41
In Game 2 of the Scholastic Play-by-Play Classic, Westerville South led almost bell-to-bell en route to a 55-41 over D-II Logan Elm.
The win kept the Wildcats unbeaten at (14-0) and the loss dropped LE to (11-2).
South held a 32-27 lead at intermission an extending its advantage throughout the third quarter and on into the fourth.
The Wildcats overall team athleticism and quickness was too much for a game Braves outfit.
Junior Traevon Jackson scored 13 points, grabbed 10 boards, and dished out three assists to earn team MVP honors. 6-foot-2 freshman Marcus Ball dropped 11 points and added nine rebounds, three assists, and two steals. Senior Tevin Favor chipped in with 12 markers.
Senior Adam Blake led the Braves with 13 points, four rebounds, and six assists to earn team MVP honors. 6-foot-3 senior Tyler Pritchard added nine and six and senior guard Cory Whaley finished with nine counters.
Canton Timken 59 Chillicothe 42
Canton Timken (13-2) used a dose of serious pressure to race by Chillicothe at the Play-by-Play Classic, 59-42.
6-foot-4 junior Rakim Reed led the Trojans with 18 points, seven rebounds, and four steals to earn the team MVP award. 6-foot-3 junior Chase Polk added 14 and 4 while senior Corey Porrini tossed in 13 points, eight rebounds, three assists, and three steals. Junior guard Jehvon Clarke finished with 10 points, five rebounds, six assists, and three swipes.
6-foot-8 junior Desmond Rorie was a force in the paint scoring just two points and grabbing three caroms but swatting away seven Cavalier shots.
Timken led by six after one (18-12), two at the half (28-26), and eight by the end of the 3rd (44-36) before outscoring Chillicothe 15-6 in the final frame.
Lengthy 6-foot-5 junior Jalen Ragland scored a team-high 17 points and notched four boards in earning MVP honors for the Cavs. Senior guard Michael Turner was next with 12 points, four rebounds, and three assists and 6-foot-8 sophomore Malik London scored five points, grabbed eight rebounds, and blocked four shots.
Ragland is a smooth operator that isn’t overly athletic but can fill it up in a hurry off the dribble or the catch and shoot.
Columbus DeSales 65 Wilmington 62 (2 OT)
Columbus DeSales (13-2) and Wilmington decided 32 minutes wasn’t going to be enough to settle their Saturday afternoon encounter at Value City Arena. DeSales needed double-overtime to outlast a scrappy Wilmington outfit playing without Ashland signee Jordan Berlin once again.
The Stallions got 27 points and four rebounds from Ohio University signee Nick Kellogg to help DeSales capture a 65-62 victory.
The game appeared to be won in regulation when Kellogg knocked down a step-back triple with 2.1 seconds remaining, but head coach Blair Albright called for a time out just moments before the shot left the senior’s hand.
Miami (OH) signee Quentin Rollins tried his best to put Wilmington (9-4) over the top scoring 30 points including 12-straight starting in the fourth quarter and carrying over to the second OT. Rollins added four rebounds, five assists, and four swipes. The senior shot 9-of-22 from the field.
It truly was amazing that the Hurricane was able to stay in the game despite committing 21 turnovers and shooting 1-of-15 from three-point range. Though, it scored 19 points off 15 Stallion turnovers.
Senior Adam Griffin added 18 points and six rebounds for the winners.
Huber Heights Wayne 62 Massillon Jackson 53
Out of gas! That could be a phrase used to describe Massillon Jackson’s boy’s basketball team on Saturday evening at the Play-by-Play Classic.
A very good Huber Heights Wayne team was waiting with fresh legs an attitude eager to prove itself after losses in both its big games this season.
Jackson (11-2), who was coming off a thrilling 65-62 overtime win over rival North Canton Hoover less than 24 hours ago, wasn’t able to withstand Wayne’s pressure, physicality, and athleticism falling victim, 62-53.
Perhaps, Jackson just came out flat and stayed flat but that would hard to believe from a team that good. It looked more like tired legs hence the 3-of-12 shooting from behind the arc and 6-of-12 showing at the foul-line along with 24 turnovers.
Wayne junior Travis Trice Jr. scored a game-high 22 points to lead the Warriors (11-2). Trice was team MVP.
6-foot-3 senior Xavier Jones added 17 points and six boards for the Warriors and 6-foot-4 junior Markus Crider accumulated 13 points.
Jones was really the difference on this day with his defensive prowess and quickness leading to several easy baskets for his team. Jones is physical and tough.
After back-to-back baskets from C.J. Julian and Mark Henniger gave Jackson a 22-19 lead, Wayne put together an 11-0 run to garner a 30-22 advantage. Henniger scored the final two baskets of the half to bring the Polar Bears within four points.
Wayne extended its leads to 45-38 after three stanzas, but Jackson would chip the lead down to 45-42 early in the fourth. The Polar Bears never got any closer than three giving the Warriors a much-needed big victory.
6-foot-7 Akron signee Josh Egner was awarded team MVP honors for Jackson scoring 16 points and snatching 14 rebounds. Egner showcased his ‘hops’ several times with two-handed flushes.
Henniger (Kent State) was top support with 13 points and nine caroms, Julian finished with 10 markers. Wheeling Jesuit signee Brad Dupont contributed seven assists and four steals.
Cleveland Benedictine 55 Cincinnati Princeton 48
It was a tough weekend to say the least for the Princeton Vikings who lost to conference foe West Chester Lakota West by one-point on Friday night and then dropped a 55-48 decision to Cleveland Benedictine (10-3) in the Play-by-Play Classic finale.
Trailing 28-24 at the intermission, the Bengals outscored the Vikings 31-20 in the second half giving head coach Rob Stircula’s squad a huge win over a D-I power.
Pitt signee and former Ohio State commit Cameron Wright scored 11 points in the first half and 19 for the game to lead the Bengals. Central Michigan signee Derek Jackson followed with 14 counters and 6-foot-6 senior Nick Harney delivered 10. Brian D’Amato finished with eight points.
For Princeton (8-4), Ohio State signee Jordan Sibert led the Vikings with 19 points and 6-foot-5 senior Darrien Wilkins added 10. Juniors Lionel Hill and Ulysses Thomas contributed eight and seven points respectively.
