The Week That Was, Vol. 3
Any conversation about the last seven days in Ohio must begin with the release of the 2019 OHSAA playoff brackets. Those premiered yesterday for all four divisions and you can find them on the OHSAA website. Postseason games can officially…
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Continue ReadingAny conversation about the last seven days in Ohio must begin with the release of the 2019 OHSAA playoff brackets. Those premiered yesterday for all four divisions and you can find them on the OHSAA website.
Postseason games can officially kick-off a week from today, Monday Feb. 18. With that being said, this is the second-to-last The Week That Was. Expect all sorts of season recaps over the next two weeks as the tournament gets underway.
Prospect of the Week: Taevon Pierre-Louis (2019), 6’5” F, Lorain
Stretching back to last Saturday’s game against Garfield Heights, Taevon Pierre-Louis has scored exactly 32 points in the last three games — wins over Garfield, Maple Heights, and Cleveland Heights. The senior was averaging 17.0 points and 7.1 rebounds coming into the weekend, per the Morning Journal. Unlocking their star combo forward makes the Titans much more dangerous heading into the home stretch.
Prep Hoops contributor Mike Fitzpatrick reported in January that TPL is destined to head the junior college route after graduation. The senior’s combination of strength, ball skills, and wiggle make him an elite face-up four prospect. For the time being, though, Lorain has all sights set on winning a State Championship.
Top Performances
Samari Curtis: It’s just absurd what Curtis is doing as a singular talent this year. Ri-dic-u-lous. On Tuesday, Xenia beat Bellefontaine 90-55 and the future Bearcat scored 52 points on 20-28 from the field. He was well below his season average for free throw attempts with nine. Tacked on nine rebounds, too.
Kyle Goessler: On the night he broke the Brunswick school-record for career 3-pointers, Goessler scored 33 points and put down this dunk in a halfcourt set. The Hillsdale commit has quietly improved year after year while building a spotless academic pedigree.
Landen Long: The unsigned senior scored 32 points with a true shooting percentage of 77 percent in a Tuesday night blow-out of the Princeton Vikings.
Jackie Harris and Jakiel Wells: Harris entered the 1,000-point club in style, going for 40 points in a blow-out win over Oregon Clay. Classmate Jakiel Wells recorded a triple-double. The two have led this St. Francis program back into the top tier of Northwest Ohio Division I programs in their Knight careers
Milton Gage: The unsigned senior put an end Chaminade Julienne’s two-game skid by putting up 21 points, seven rebounds, six assists, and four steals in an overtime win over Fenwick.
Ben Roderick: Roderick torched Hughes for 42 points in Liberty’s road trip to Cincinnati. The 6’5” wing remains, arguably, the top unsigned senior on the board in Ohio.
Top Plays
Jackson Izzard: A halfcourt buzzer beater in one of this week’s Top Games, it doesn’t get much better than that.
Andre Gordon: There were several ridiculous plays in this Bonus Sports highlight package, but none better than the 360-dunk and posterization at the end.
@BonusSports @BonusSports @BonusSports pic.twitter.com/n9A3Y4wJCI
— dre (@20dre) February 9, 2019
Sonny Johnson Jr. to Meechie Johnson: The Garfield Heights cousins connected on a bounce pass into a buzzer beater to take down Benedictine on Thursday night, via 3rd Coast Hoops.
https://twitter.com/3rdCoastHoops/status/1093923120686223360
Christian Gillian: Hilliard Davidson’s Gillian scored the go-ahead 3-pointer on a second chance opportunity in double overtime against Bradley.
Top Games
Click on the orange links to read the gamers from all of Ohio’s outstanding news sources. Publications cited this week: Delaware Gazette, 270 Hoops, Toledo Blade, Akron Beacon Journal, Cleveland.com, Chronicle Telegram, Dayton Daily News, The Lima News.
Tuesday-
Lutheran East at Warrensville Heights: The Falcons woke up Wednesday at 10-6 after beating Warrensville 72-58. But one layer beyond that, there’s a ton of promise. In their three games against Division III and IV programs, NEO’s D-III regional favorite is 3-0 with an average point differential of +17.3 points.
Newark at Olentangy Liberty: Liberty’s 68-45 win over Newark was their fifth-consecutive victory. Senior Mitchell Kershner returned to the lineup after suffering an injury and contributed 10 points and six rebounds. Delaware Gazette also reported that Liberty senior Joey Thatcher is shooting 54.5 percent from beyond the arch.
Canal Winchester at Pickerington North: Jack Sawyer — a sophomore who recently gave a verbal to Ohio State’s football program — abused Canal Winchester, handing them their second loss of the season. Sawyer totaled 24 points and nine rebounds as the Panthers rolled, 92-63.
Princeton at Mason: Landen Long’s career-night led the Comets past Princeton, 72-50. Mason held the Vikings to just 26 points through three quarters. Princeton freshman Bowen Hardman, a 6’4” guard, scored a career-high 18 points.
Columbus DeSales at Jonathan Alder: Sophomore Jackson Izzard’s game-winner from half-court is one of the wildest finishes of the season. Izzard was on fire all game, going 6-9 from deep and scoring 20 points in the 44-41 victory.
Reading at Wyoming: Wyoming has righted the ship since their mid-January loss to Purcell. A 48-35 win over 14-6 Reading made it seven-straight for the Cowboys. Sophomore wing Isiaah Walker led the way with 20 points.
Whitmer at Toledo St. John’s: Whitmer halted St. John’s momentum with a 57-44 win at the Titan Dome. Unsigned forward Eddie Colbert scored a team-high 16 points and kept Caleb Smith in check on the other end. Fellow seniors Cavon Butler andn Trey Syroka added 14 points a piece for one-loss Whitmer.
Wednesday-
Hoban vs. St. Vincent-St. Mary: St. V answered any questions about who the best team in Akron this season. They topped Hoban 69-48 at the Univ. of Akron in this mid-week showdown. Lunden McDay (20) and Seth Wilson (19) combined for 39 points to lead the way for the Irish.
Thursday-
Benedictine at Garfield Heights: Sonny Johnson Jr. drove baseline, found himself under the rim, then fed a crafty bounce-pass to a diving Meechie Johnson. Bucket. Meechie’s contested layup put Garfield ahead 59-57 and that was all she wrote Thursday.
Friday-
Pickerington North at Reynoldsburg: Pickerington North swept the season series against their division rival. Jack Sawyer turned in yet another dominate performance in the 53-48 win.
Lutheran East at St. Vincent-St. Mary: STVM put the finishing touches on a brilliant week, beating Lutheran East 75-58. EJ Farmer missed another game for the Falcons. STVM sophomore wing/forward Malaki Branham led all scorers with 23 points.
Cleveland Heights at Lorain: Lorain stormed back from a 27-14 deficit behind the scoring of senior duo Devon Grant and Taevon Pierre-Louis, 26 and 32 points respectively. The win secured the Lake Erie League title for Lorain.
Centerville at Fairmont: Centerville made it 10 wins in a row with a 46-44 victory at Trent Arena. Their second half comeback culminated in a floater, block, and free throw in the final minute.
Fenwick at Chaminade Julienne: CJ remained undefeated in the GCL-CoEd with a narrow three-point overtime victory. Senior point guard Milton Gage led the way with 21 points, seven rebounds, six assists, and four steals. On the other side, CJ Napier put up 27 points and five rebounds for Fenwick.
St. Edward at St. Ignatius: Senior Lukas Bielek refused to be swept by rival St. Eds in his final season. Bielek scored 24 points as the Wildcats handed St. Edward their first OHSAA loss since Dec. 18, 2018.
Saturday-
Hilliard Davidson at Hilliard Bradley: Davidson senior Christian Gillian corralled an offensive rebound before stepping back and hoisting the game-winning 3-pointer in double overtime. The 44-43 loss was the first of the season for Bradley.
Purcell Marian at Moeller: Moeller continued their crusade of Southwest Ohio’s top teams, holding Purcell to 28 percent shooting in their 54-36 win. Seniors Miles “Deuce” McBride and Alec Pfriem both scored 15 points.
Newark at Pickerington Central: Seniors Javohn Garcia and Coleton Landis combined for 40 points, outscoring Newark by themselves. The Tigers advanced to 20-1 and might just be the Regional favorites in Central Ohio after all.
Olentangy Liberty at Hughes: Liberty knocked off a streaking Hughes team, 79-77, behind 42 points from unsigned senior Ben Roderick.
Johnstown Monroe at South: Johnstown’s Owen Hazelbaker may have capitalized on his size advantage inside — scoring a game-high 20 points — but South proved superior in a 59-47 win. The Bulldogs are now 19-1.
: Junior guard Jermaine Daniel erupted for 24 points on eight 3-pointers to lead Lima past Mansfield, 82-67.
: Cade Stover, a future linebacker at Ohio State, led the way in Lexington’s 52-50 win with 19 points and 13 rebounds. The reigning Regional Champions have won 10 of their last 11.