Marquee Matchups: Week 6 in Central Ohio
Prep Hoops Ohio will be at Pickerington North for the OCC/City League Challenge on Saturday for a five-game showcase, including three of the week six Marquee Matchups in Central Ohio.
Jan. 6: Northland vs. Hilliard Bradley @ Pickerington North
Northland has lost three of four games. However, a peek into the box score shows that they’ve lost by a total of 21 points against Beechcroft, East English Village (MI), and Wayne Memorial (MI) in those games. Therefore, Northland is actually playing very well right now, led by Will Mfum, Jejuan Weatherspoon, and DiShon Daniels.
Bradley, who tends to play a much lower scoring game than Northland lost a head-scratcher against Hilliard Davidson last week. Sophomore point guard Matt Allocco continues to prove himself as one of the top prospects in Ohio’s 2020 class.
Jan. 6: Africentric vs. Upper Arlington @ Pickerington North
Africentric will have their hands full in the 6:15 p.m. timeslot against Upper Arlington. The Golden Bears are returning home from Missouri after running through the Joe Machens Great 8 Classic. Dane Goodwin and Max Martz have been as excellent as expected this season, leading UA to an 8-0 December record. They’ll have to deal with another dynamic duo in Manning “Tre” Baumgardner and Jah Bennett for Africentric.
Jan 6. Beechcroft @ Pickerington North
The final game of the OCC/City League Challenge is this week’s best game in all of Ohio. Beechcroft is the #1 team in Division II currently, while Pickerington North remains a contender for the Division I State Championship.
We’re getting a premier battle of Division I prospects at the wing with Jerome Hunter (Indiana) against Jelani Simmons (Youngstown State). Additionally, Beechcroft has a foursome of hungry unsigned senior prospects in Datrey Long, Elijah Bishop, Teon Jennings, and Therron Jennings. Their collective length and athleticism will be matched up with Elijah McNamara, Dondre Palmer, Ty Wiley, and Jack Sawyer of Pick North.
Jan. 6: Cincinnati Hughes at Eastmoor Academy
Click here to read the preview for this game, as we’ve previewed it in the Southern Ohio week six preview.