Recap of Week 3’s Top Five Games
The Sunday night wrap-up of this week’s top five games checks in on the five largest metropolitan areas in Ohio. We went 3-2 in our predictions in Week 3’s games, which were mostly conference showdowns.
Tuesday, Dec. 11: Trotwood (75) over Centerville (65)
Green Bay signee Amari Davis dominated the second half on his way to 29 points, five rebounds, four assists, six steals, and a gutsy Trotwood win. Although they lost, Centerville appeared to be a team capable of competing with anybody in the GWOC. Their senior guards — Matt Pearce, Jason Sneed, Ryan Marchal, Kaleb Mitchell — would all be quality pickups for D-III programs.
A couple nights later, Trotwood moved to 3-0 upon blowing-out Xenia behind 33 more points from Davis. Centerville, on the other hand, dropped to 2-3 on Friday in a loss to Springfield.
Tuesday, Dec. 11: Columbus South (78) over Walnut Ridge (74)
After South’s Marcus Johnson pushed the game into overtime on a buzzer-beating put-back, senior guard Treohn Watkins put the finishing touches to close out Walnut Ridge in a conference showdown, per 270 Hoops.
Other standout performers include Walnut Ridge’s VonCameron Davis with 35 points and seven rebounds, and Kaveon Ross’s 22 points and 15 rebounds.
After this week, South is atop the Columbus City League South at 3-0, Walnut Ridge trailing them slightly at 4-1. The rematch will take place on Friday, Jan. 18 at Walnut Ridge.
Friday, Dec. 14: Whitmer (73) over Toledo St. Francis (65)
Week 3’s Game of the Week lived up to expectation. Whitmer’s seniors led the way in a contentious game on the road. Their four 2019 starters — Eddie Colbert, Areon Evans, Leon Hughes, Trey Syroka — scored 70 of their 73 points, allowing them to dominate this game in every quarter but the third.
St. Francis, though, kept it close behind 26 points from senior guard Jakiel Wells. Classmate and 6’6” forward Jackie Harris posted a double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds.
These two will face-off again on Friday, Feb. 1 at Whitmer.
Friday, Dec. 14: Wyoming (61) over Deer Park (60)
After a late-start to the season because of a State Championship run in football, Wyoming crammed in three games this week and swept the field. Most impressive was this one-point edging of Deer Park, a team who beat them by double-digits twice last season.
The victory gives Wyoming an early advantage in the Cincinnati Hills League. Football stars Joey Edmonds and Evan Prater led the way for Wyoming, combining for 40 points, per Cincinnati.com. Deer Park junior point guard Steven Gentry Jr. scored a game-high 24 points.
The rematch will take place at Deer Park on Tuesday, Jan. 29.
Saturday, Dec. 15: St. Vincent-St. Mary (73) over Cleveland Central Catholic (52)
Week 3 provided a momentum shift for both of these teams — in opposite directions, however. For the Irish, they rebounded from a rough weekend in Cincinnati by handling CCC. Meanwhile, this was the second loss in as many days for the Ironmen. Entering the week, CCC was 3-0 with wins over Cornerstone, Solon, and Douglas County, before dropping two in a row to Benedictine and STVM.