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Division I District Semifinal Recap

By Zach Fleer, 03/04/20, 8:45PM EST

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A look at the Division I district semifinal action in the area

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- And then there were eight. In a loaded night of Division I hoops, eight tickets were punched to Saturday's district finals at Ohio Dominican.

Let's take a look at the action in the area in a night of pure chaos. 

#7 Thomas Worthington (20-5) 70, #9 Olentangy Liberty (18-7) 50

Thomas Worthington moves on to the district finals to take on No. 5 Pickerington North on Saturday at 11 a.m. at Ohio Dominican. 

#5 Pickerington North (21-4) 64, #16 Chillicothe (18-5) 38

 Junior point guard Casey George led Pickerington North with 14 points tonight as they jumped out to a commanding 19-3 lead over the Chillicothe Cavaliers in the first quarter of their district semifinal at Amanda-Clearcreek High School.

George erupted for four treys and added a jumper to give the Panthers a 21-5 first quarter lead that proved impossible to overcome.

The Panthers continued their strong team play, winning the second quarter 14-8 and jumping out to a 35-13 halftime lead.

Chillicothe got eight points from Brandon Noel and four points from Jayvon Maughmer, while George's 14 halftime points continued to lead the way for Pickerington North.

After a Noel jumper got Chillicothe on the board first in the second half, the Panthers went on an 11-3 run where George scored four points and Jerry Saunders added five points, giving them a 46-20 lead.

However, the Cavaliers answered with a 9-2 run led by two three point shots from Noel to get the game to 48-29 after three quarters.

George hit a short jumper from seven feet to score his twentieth point which was the game high, extending the Panther lead to 50-29.

The remainder of the fourth quarter, the Panthers outscored the Cavaliers 14-9 which included an alley-oop slam dunk to Cincinnati football recruit Chris Scott on the way to a 64-38 win.

Scott played an excellent floor game, finished strong around the rim and helped control the boards on both ends of the floor for Pickerington North.

The Cavaliers finished 19-5 on the season led by their 6-foot-9 big Noel who was their league MVP and led the Cavs with 19 points on the evening.

Pickerington North moves on to the district finals to take on No. 7 Thomas Worthington on Saturday at 11 a.m. at Ohio Dominican.  This will be the second year in a row that these two teams have met in the district finals.

#6 Walnut Ridge (21-4) 59, #17 Reynoldsburg (14-11) 57

Walnut Ridge continued to get the job done when it mattered most tonight in a tightly contested win over a strong Reynoldsburg squad by a score of 59-57.

Reynoldsburg started out tonight’s game on fire from the three point line. The Raiders hit four three pointers in the first quarter, three of them coming from senior James Dean.

Walnut Ridge finally got their offense clicking midway through the second quarter with a 7-0 run to tie up the game. 

After several lead changes down the stretch, a rebound got tipped out to junior Leon Douglas for a knockout punch three pointer for Walnut Ridge.

Walnut Ridge showed off their depth tonight by having four players with double digit points. VonCameron Davis had a team high 17 points and Douglas added 15 points. The senior duo of Kaveon Ross and Qian Magwood contributed 11 points each.

Reynoldsburg had three players in double digits in tonight’s hard fought game. Sophomore Julian Heckman had a game high 21 points. The senior duo Sean Moore and James Dean pitched in a combined 28 points.

Walnut Ridge moves on to the district finals to take on No. 1 Gahanna on Saturday at 2 p.m. at Ohio Dominican. 

#1 Gahanna (24-1) 68, #22 Whitehall (15-9) 45

Gahanna continued their near perfect season tonight in a huge win against a tough Whitehall team by a score of 68-45.

The turning point for Gahanna tonight was their big 23-7 second quarter win behind 14 first half points from their sophomore lead guard Sean Jones.

Gahanna proved that they are one of Central Ohio’s deepest teams by having four players in double digits. Sean Jones had a game high 18 points and sophomore Javan Simmons added 13 points off the bench. The sophomore duo of Jarius Jones and Maceo Williams contributed 10 points each.

Sophomore Royal Sibley led Whitehall with a team high 14 points and sophomore Kievon Wiggins also added nine points.

Gahanna moves on to the district finals to take on No. 6 Walnut Ridge on Saturday at 2 p.m. at Ohio Dominican. 

#18 Delaware Hayes (15-9) 57, #4 Pickerington Central (18-7) 45

Delaware Hayes entered Wednesday night's game with Pickerington Central fresh off putting an end to St Charles 13 game game win streak. There were a lot of questions going around about how legit they were and they answered them tonight, knocking off Pickerington Central 57-45 in convincing fashion.

Hayes came out of the gates with a lot of confidence. They drew first blood with a Paul Burris three and never stopped believing. The Pacers did a fantastic job of dictating the tempo as they ran their sets all the way  through until they got good looks. A tip in from Sihr Summner gave Hayes a 12-9 lead after one.

Hayes continued to play at their ideal pace and got ten points in the second quarter  from Burris to give them a 28-20 lead at the half. 

Burris hit his fourth three midway through the third quarter and Delaware Hayes led by 12. Hayes led by as many as 15 in the second half. 

The Tigers tried their best to muster up a comeback in the fourth, but unfortunately for them the closest they got was seven points as Hayes did a great job of handling pressure, using the clock, and taking care of business at the line.  

Burris led all scorers with 22 points, Griggs added 14 and Nabil Abdus Salaam chipped in 10 points while being the ultimate glue guy providing rim protection and toughness that every team needs.

For Pickerington Central Tahleik Walker led the way with ten points.

Delaware Hayes moves on to the district finals to take on No. 13 Westerville Central on Saturday at 5 p.m. at Ohio Dominican. Hayes will have a chance to win their first district title since 1985. 

#13 Westerville Central (17-7) 65, #3 South (23-2) 63

Westerville Central moves on to the district finals to take on No. 18 Delaware Hayes on Saturday at 5 p.m. at Ohio Dominican. Central will have a chance to win their first district title in school history.

#2 Hilliard Bradley (24-2) 50, #11 Westerville South (16-9) 41

Hilliard Bradley moves on to the district finals to take on No. 8 Newark on Saturday at 8 p.m. at Ohio Dominican.

#8 Newark (23-3) 63, #10 Dublin Coffman (18-7) 57

Newark moves on to the district finals to take on No. 2 Hilliard Bradley on Saturday at 8 p.m. at Ohio Dominican.

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