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Tournament Week: Games to watch

By Zach Fleer, 02/24/20, 12:15PM EST

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We preview the top matchups in each division this week in tournament action

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- It’s hard to believe that the first weekend of tournament action is already behind us. As Division I and IV got tipped off last week, Division II and III tournament games will begin on Tuesday. After this week’s games, we’ll have a clear picture of what teams remain in the district semifinals and beyond.

Let’s take a look at some of the top games to watch this week in Central Ohio. We’ll provide an update later this week for sectional final and district semifinal action in Division II, III and IV.

See the full tournament schedule HERE.

See the full brackets HERE.

Division I

No. 21 Marysville (15-8) at No. 16 Chillicothe (17-4)

Marysville is in the midst of its best season in nearly 20 years, as the Monarchs won its first OCC title since 2001 and will have a chance to win more than 15 games for the first time all decade when they head to Chillicothe on Friday night.

This will be as tough of a test as Marysville has had all season. Chillicothe has a terrific senior class led by the quartet of Brandon Noel, Jayvon Maughmer, Tre Beard and Vincent Roper. Opposing them is a balanced Marysville team with a terrific backcourt in Joey Duke and Jack Christian and a promising young big in Garrett Taylor.

The front court matchup between the 6-foot-8 Noel and the 6-foot-6 Taylor will be something to watch and could end up being the difference in the game.

The winner will advance to the district semifinals on March 4 to likely take on No. 5 Pickerington North.

No. 17 Reynoldsburg (13-10) at No. 15 New Albany (15-7)

For the second-straight tournament game, Reynoldsburg will face a non-league opponent for the second time. Already winning once at New Albany without its senior leader Sean Moore, the Raiders will return to the Eagles’ home floor with its talented 6-foot-5 wing in the lineup. Moore is coming off a 16-point, 13-rebound performance in a 51-41 win over Dublin Scioto and will be looking to inflict more damage on Friday.

New Albany’s deep group of seniors will be looking to advance to the district semifinals, as they’ve already equaled the win total of the 2017-18 and 208-19 seasons combined. We look forward to seeing what shakes out here as both teams match up well with one another and are hungry for a trip to the district semis.

The winner will more than likely face No. 6 Walnut Ridge in the district semifinals on March 4.

No. 22 Whitehall (14-8) at No. 14 Canal Winchester (16-7)

Canal Winchester is facing a gauntlet on its way to the district semifinals. After knocking off No. 19 Upper Arlington in a hard-fought game on Saturday, the Indians return to the floor on Wednesday against a lengthy and athletic Whitehall team coming off an MSL-Ohio title.

The Rams may be an underdog but are not lacking for talent and athleticism, which could make Friday’s semifinal showdown one of the best on the night. We look forward to the matchup between Canal’s Bilal Sow and Whitehall’s Royal Sibley, as that could be the difference in the game.

The winner will advance to the district semifinals to more than likely take on No. 1 Gahanna on March 4.

No.  18 Delaware Hayes (13-9) at No. 12 St. Charles (18-5)

Pickerington North has become the home floor for St. Charles in this tournament, as the Cardinals will host Delaware Hayes there just six days after knocking off Big Walnut. As winners of its last 12 games, St. Charles will look to keep rolling against a tough Delaware Hayes team that has gone 13-4 after a dismal 0-5 start. 

This matchup presents a battle between two future Ashland Eagles in Hayes senior Paul Burris and St. Charles senior Vic Searls. It’ll be interesting to see if St. Charles can keep things rolling against one of the better mid-level OCC programs.

The winner will advance to the district semifinals to more than likely take on No. 4 Pickerington Central on March 4. 

No. 23 Grove City (12-11) at No. 13 Westerville Central (15-7)

In a rematch of a Nov. 30 game where Brock Waits went off for 24 points and Grove City defeated Westerville Central at home, the Greyhounds will look to make it 2-0 against the Warhawks, this time away from its home floor. 

After an impressive 62-50 win over a Watkins Memorial team that entered with an 11-game win streak, Grove City is rolling behind the scoring duo of Waits and fellow junior Alex Coffey. Opposing them is a Westerville Central team that won its last two games of the regular season over quality opponents in Westerville South and Dublin Scioto. 

The Warhawks will be intent on shutting down Waits this time around, however, the emergence of Coffey as a primetime scorer makes Grove City one of the better mid-level seeds in the tournament.

The winner will more than likely take on No. 3 South in the district semifinals on March 4.

No. 31 Dublin Jerome (11-12) at No. 10 Dublin Coffman (17-6)

A matchup that many in Dublin have been anticipating since the tournament draw, Jerome made the first step to making this happen by going on the road and knocking off No. 20 Olentangy Orange - becoming the only lower seeded Division I team to win this weekend.

With the meeting at Coffman that it coveted, this year’s Jerome team will look to accomplish what every other team before them couldn’t. Losing to the Rocks in the tournament in 2013, 2017 and 2018, Jerome is looking for revenge this time around. Led by senior guard Dan Lee, the Celtics are a gritty bunch that needed every single stop and bucket to overcome Orange in literally the final second.

Coffman comes in as winners of six of its last seven games, however, a deflating loss to Upper Arlington Feb. 14 prevented the Rocks from an outright OCC-Central title. The battle between Lee and Coffman senior guard Keaton Turner is as good as it gets, as both senior leaders are hellbent on advancing in the tournament.

The winner of Friday’s game will take on either No. 8 Newark or No. 33 Worthington Kilbourne in the district semifinals on March 4. 

Division II

No. 12 River Valley (11-11) at No. 8 London (15-7)

There are some big-time scorers in this game as River Valley hits the road to take on a London team rolling with momentum after knocking off Jonathan Alder to end its regular season. The Vikings, despite being 11-11, have one of Division II’s best trios in juniors Ethan Bell, Dylan Johnson and Jahki Henderson. That trio will be tested against London junior Trey Woodyard, who hit the game-winning three to take down Alder and has more Division I offers than any other player in his class.

If London slows down River Valley and keeps the game in the 50s, we see the Red Raiders moving on to the sectional finals to take on Bloom-Carroll on the road. However, if the Vikings can get hot from the perimeter and up the tempo, River Valley might just pull the upset.

The winner, as mentioned, will move on to Saturday afternoon’s sectional final at Bloom-Carroll. 

No. 15 Licking Valley (11-11) at No. 14 Centennial (9-13)

Licking Valley ended its regular season by going on the road and becoming only the second team (outside of Harvest Prep) to defeat Bishop Rosecrans at home. The Panthers are hoping that momentum will carry through to Wednesday when they’ll hit the road again and travel to Northwest Columbus for a sectional semifinal battle at Centennial.

This game will more than likely be won in the backcourt, as Licking Valley senior Carson Conley will take his 20 point per game average into a tight Centennial gym where junior guards Travonne Jackson and Jaylon Jackson have excelled as of late. We also look forward to the front court battle between Licking Valley’s Ethan Curry and Centennial’s Jaylon Gilbert.

The winner will advance to the sectional finals to take on No. 3 DeSales on Saturday at 1 p.m.

Division III

No. 9 Amanda-Clearcreek (12-9) at No. 3 North Union (21-0)

A rare top 10 battle in the sectional semifinals is on tap for Tuesday at North Union. The only Division III team in the state still unbeaten, North Union will get a big challenge in the form of MSL-Buckeye Amanda-Clearcreek.

While the Aces could have chosen to host a sectional game, they instead went after North Union in what could be the best Division III tournament game of the week.

We look forward to seeing how Amanda deals with North Union’s talented backcourt, as the Aces have been pretty solid defensively for the duration of the season.

The winner will advance to the sectional finals to host No. 16 West Jefferson on Friday at 7 p.m.

No. 14 Fairbanks (11-11) at No. 11 Elgin (12-9)

This is a rematch of a game on Jan. 4 that Elgin won 47-44. Fairbanks comes to town in the sectional semifinals looking to make up for losing as the No. 5 seed in this round a year ago. The Panthers have one of the area’s better sleeper juniors in Braylon Green, who will do battle with Elgin star senior Ryan Sheridan.

The winner will advance to the sectional finals on Friday to take on No. 2 Worthington Christian.

Division IV

No. 5 Newark Catholic (12-11) at No. 4 East Knox (15-7)

Enjoying its first winning season since 1996, East Knox will be the place to be on Tuesday when Newark Catholic comes to town for a big-time sectional final. 

The winner will advance to the district semifinals on Friday at 7 p.m. to take on the winner of No. 6 Fisher Catholic and No. 8 Patriot Academy.

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