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Division I Sectional Final Recap

By Zach Fleer, 02/28/20, 9:00PM EST

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A look at the Division I sectional final action in the area

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- We are only eight days away from District Final Saturday! With the sectional finals tipping off on Thursday and continuing through tonight, let's take a look at the action in the area.

#1 Gahanna (23-1) 79, #46 Independence (4-18) 35

In a night where upsets and tight games were spread all over Columbus, top-seeded Gahanna wanted no part of that and made sure it was not privy to that, jumping out early on 46th seeded Independence, and cruising to a 79-35 win on Friday night.

Sophomore guard Sean Jones led the way yet again, scoring 20 points and dropping many smooth dimes in an opening half that set the tone from the tip. Gahanna led 13-4 in the opening four minutes, and 23-7 after a quarter of play. Junior big man Maceo Williams capped off a 29-11 second quarter with a big slam.

Gahanna advances to the district semifinals to take on No. 22 Whitehall on Weds., March 4 at 7 p.m.

#2 Hilliard Bradley (22-2) 54, #39 Lancaster (6-17) 38

Hilliard Bradley advances to the district semifinals to take on No. 11 Westerville South on Weds., March 4 at 7 p.m.

#3 South (23-1) 91, #48 Whetstone (6-17) 42

South advances to the district semifinals to take on No. 13 Westerville Central on Weds., March 4 at 7 p.m.

#4 Pickerington Central (18-6) 72, #37 Licking Heights (9-14) 40

Pickerington Central advances to the district semifinals to take on No. 18 Delaware Hayes on Weds., March 4 at 7 p.m.

#5 Pickerington North (20-4) 51, #42 Hilliard Davidson (4-19) 34

Hunter Shedenhelm led Pickerington North with 15 points as the only player in double figures in a 51-34 win over Hilliard Davidson.

Pickerington North advances to the district semifinals to take on No.  16 Chillicothe on Weds., March 4 at 7 p.m.

#6 Walnut Ridge (20-4) 76, #49 West (2-20) 36

VonCameron Davis scored 24 and Leon Douglas added 17 on four three's as Walnut Ridge stomped West, winning 76-36.

Walnut Ridge advances to the district semifinals to take on No. 17 Reynoldsburg on Weds., March 4 at 7 p.m.

#7 Thomas Worthington (19-5) 49, #32 Olentangy (10-13) 47

In an absolute thriller, Thomas Worthington ended the game on a 5-0 run to survive and advance against Olentangy, just barely sneaking by the Braves 49-47.

While Olentangy competed at a high level all day and even claimed a 28-25 lead with a few minutes left to play following a triple from Zach Wieging, Thomas Worthington ended the frame on an 11-2 run to take a 36-30 lead and all of the momentum into the final frame following a tip in from Omari Effiong just before the buzzer.

Despite the Cardinals leading 40-33 with 5:02 to go, Olentangy showed some amazing fight late, crawling all the way back with a 10-2 run and cutting the deficit to 43-42 with 2:39 to go following a clutch three-pointer from Ethan Smith.

Just a couple of possessions later, Jake Elmore buried a three from the wing to put the Braves up 45-43 with 1:44 to go, a lead that they pushed to 47-44 with 1:22 to go after some clutch free throw shooting.

Scoring the next five points, Thomas Worthington stunned the Braves as Jalen Sullinger hit a free throw, Tyrese Hughey converted a lay in off a lob and Isaac Settles finished a putback with 3.2 seconds left to go to win it.

Thomas Worthington advances to the district semifinals on No. 9 Olentangy Liberty on Weds., March 4 at 7 p.m.

#8 Newark (22-3) 65, #33 Worthington Kilbourne (11-12) 45

After starting tournament play out strong in the sectional semifinal win over Teays Valley, Newark continues on in win over Worthington Kilbourne by a score of 65-45.

A 2-0 score early in the first quarter was Worthington Kilbourne’s only lead in Thursday’s matchup. Once Newark got the lead, they never looked back. The second quarter was crucial for Newark because they started to lockdown defensively, which resulted in winning the quarter 25-10. 

Newark’s senior duo of Bobby Crenshaw and Jaden Woods led the way with a combined 38 points. Junior Elijah Hinton added 10 points off the bench for Newark.

Worthington Kilbourne was led by their junior duo of Ian Schupp and Mitchell Tomasek, who provided 14 points each.

Newark advances to the district semifinals to take on No. 10 Dublin Coffman on Weds., March 4 at 7 p.m.

#9 Olentangy Liberty (18-6) 63, #29 Northland (11-10) 54

Olentangy Liberty juniors Henry Hinkle, Ty Foster, Andrew Wade and Cam Barcus have been the story for the Patriots all season long. They were again tonight, scoring 61 of the Patriots 63 total points and leading Liberty to the district semifinals with a 63-54 win over Northland. 

However, this score does not show the amount of fight the Vikings put into this game.

The first quarter was tight, ending 13-9 after a Ty Foster tip in at the buzzer to give the Patriots the lead.

The second quarter started off all Vikings, as Shemar Watson, who finished with 11, went up strong for a tough finish, pushing the lead to 18-17 Northland.

Makhale Massey was the leader all night on the floor for the Vikings, finishing with a team high 17 and hitting a halftime buzzer beater to give the Vikings a 26-23 lead as both squads entered the locker rooms.

Northland came out of the locker room hot with a Massey jam and then a Watson three to give them a 34-27 lead.

After this points, the Henry Hinkle show began.

Hinkle finished with 23 and scored nine in the third quarter, which brought the Patriots back in it. Once Hinkle brought the Patriots back, it was all Liberty until the final buzzer.

Olentangy Liberty advances to the district semifinals to take on No. 7 Thomas Worthington on Weds., March 4 at 7 p.m.

#10 Dublin Coffman (18-6) 50, #31 Dublin Jerome (11-13) 45

In a thriller at Rock Arena, Dublin Coffman survived a near upset loss to Dublin Jerome in the final seconds, 50-45.

Despite holding a 44-30 lead after three quarters of play, the Rocks allowed a 14-2 run from Jerome that spanned the course of seven and a half minutes.

Trailing by two with 1:40 to go, Jerome had a shot to tie or take the lead. Unfortunately for the Celtics, turnover woes struck at the worst time, as a turnover seconds later put the ball back in the hands of Coffman.

Coffman senior guard Keaton Turner went to the line for a big one and one moments later. Turner knocked down both attempts, stretching the Coffman lead to four at 48-44.

Jerome responded as CC Ezirim was fouled and converted one of two free throws to trim the deficit to three points at 48-45 with 12 seconds to go.

Sending Turner back to the line, the Coffman senior missed the front end of a one and one giving Jerome a shot to tie the game.

On the following possession, Jerome senior Dan Lee, who was terrific all night, missed a three-point field goal where it appeared he was hit on the hand after an excellent close out by Coffman sophomore Ajay Sheldon.

With no foul call being made, Coffman secured the rebound on the arrant shot and got the ball back in the hands of its star senior Turner.

Turner, with the game on the line, hit two clutch free throws to extend the Coffman lead to five points, while setting the program record for points in a season in the process.

Surviving with a five-point win, the Rocks advance to the district semifinals to take on No. 8 Newark on Wednesday in a rematch of the 2018 district semifinals that the Rocks won in thrilling fashion.

Turner scored 14 of his team-high 21 points in the second half, while Nash Hostetler and Dylan Van Vlerah combined for 17 points for the Rocks.

For Jerome, Lee was amazing, scoring a game-high 27 points and powering a fourth quarter rally that nearly amounted in a first-ever win over Coffman. 

Dublin Coffman advances to the district semifinals to take on No. 8 Newark on Weds., March 4 at 7 p.m.

#11 Westerville South (16-8) 72, #26 Briggs (14-9) 48

Jaden Guice led Westerville South with 30 points in a monster showing as the Wildcats steamrolled Briggs 72-48.

Tabari Howard and Drey Carter also scored 13 a piece.

Westerville South advances to the district semifinals to take on No. 2 Hilliard Bradley on Weds., March 4 at 7 p.m.

#18 Delaware Hayes (14-9) 49, #12 St. Charles (18-6) 30

The Delaware Hayes Pacers have been hot ever since they got Nate Griggs back, as they have went 14-4 with Griggs in the lineup. 

Griggs sure did help tonight, scoring 17 points and receiving great help from his teammate Paul Burris, who added 13, leading the Pacers to an upset victory 49-30 over St. Charles.

The game was physical from the start, with the first bucket coming after two minutes into the game by way of an Addison Harvey put back. The first quarter ended with Delaware Hayes leading the Cardinals 14-10.

The game remained tight as St. Charles started the second quarter on a 7-0 run. All of the momentum shifted towards Delaware Hayes side after a Paul Burris dunk ignited a 7-0 run for the Pacers themselves, helping them take a 27-19 lead into halftime that they rode the rest of the way.

Delaware Hayes advances to the district semifinals to take on No. 4 Pickerington Central on Weds., March 4 at 7 p.m.

#13 Westerville Central (16-7) 61, #23 Grove City (12-12) 41

Westerville Central advances to the district semifinals to take on No. 3 South on Weds., March 4 at 7 p.m.

#22 Whitehall (15-8) 65, #14 Canal Winchester (16-8) 51 

Kievon Wiggins led Whitehall with 18 points while Charles Miller scored 12 and Josiah Mobley, Teddy Brown and Amir Dallas each added 10 a piece as the Rams made a statement on the road, defeating Canal Winchester 65-51.

Whitehall advances to the district semifinals to take on No. 1 Gahanna on Weds., March 4 at 7 p.m.

#17 Reynoldsburg (14-10) 59, #15 New Albany (15-8) 55

Sean Moore led Reynoldsburg with 21 points while James Dean scored 15 and Julian Heckman added 12 in a huge 59-55 win for Reynoldsburg over New Albany.

Reynoldsburg advances to the district semifinals to take on No. 6 Walnut Ridge on Weds., March 4 at 7 p.m.

#16 Chillicothe (18-4) 62, #21 Marysville (15-9) 48

Friday night’s sectional final between No. 16 Chillicothe and No. 21 Marysville saw the Cavaliers jump out to an early lead and hang on to that lead for the duration of the game. 

Through the play of seniors Tre Beard, Jayvon Maughmer, and Brandon Noel, Chillicothe comfortably defeated Marysville by a score of 62-48. 

Marysville’s talented trio consisting of Jack Christian, Garrett Taylor, and Joey Duke were all held in check for the majority of the game. A cold shooting night coupled with a strong defensive effort from Chillicothe kept the Monarchs from getting into an offensive groove. 

The Cavaliers’ senior trio combined for 49 points in the win and showed why they will not be an easy out. With their elite athleticism, size, and shooting, they advance to the next round.

Chillicothe advances to the district semifinals to take on No.  5 Pickerington North on Weds., March 4 at 7 p.m.

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