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Thomas Worthington 73, Canton McKinley 63 - Prospect Scouting Report

By Jake Spegal, 01/16/21, 9:00PM EST

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Jalen Sullinger drops 27 points as Thomas Worthington cruises past Canton McKinley

WORTHINGTON, Ohio -- In what looked to be a great game on paper, Thomas Worthington took control after the first quarter and dominated Canton McKinley for the final 24 minutes in a convincing 73-63 win on Saturday evening.

After the Cardinals established a 6-2 lead early on, a couple of three's from McKinley senior Tae Perie gave them the lead late in the first frame before Thomas Worthington sophomore Caleb Miller drilled one of his two three's in the contest to even things up at 12 after one.

Behind the offensive creation of senior guard ​​​​​​​Jalen Sullinger, Thomas Worthington took the lead and quickly built on it early in the second, racing out to a 21-14 lead with 4:32 left in the half after another triple from Miller forced a Canton McKinley timeout.

An emphatic slam from Furman commit ​​​​​​​Tyrese Hughey right before the buzzer pushed the Thomas Worthington lead to 30-18 at the break and gave them all of the momentum heading into the locker room.

Thomas Worthington did a fantastic job defending Canton McKinley senior and West Virginia commit Kobe Johnson in the first half, holding him scoreless through the first two frames thanks to excellent team effort defensively, specifically from senior ​​​​​​​Omari Effiong.

While Johnson began to somewhat find a groove in the second half, Thomas Worthington built their lead to 16 points after three quarters and simply made the hill too large for the Bulldogs to climb. 

Closing things out the right way, Sullinger went eight-for-nine from the free throw line in the fourth quarter to secure the win for Thomas Worthington.

He led all scorers with 27 points, while ​​​​​​​Joey Zalewski added 13 and Hughey scored 12 of his own.

They move to 7-4 following the win as they are riding hot on a five game winning streak.

For Canton McKinley, Johnson led the way with 19 while Perie added 15 of his own. They fall to 8-3 following the loss with all three losses coming to teams from Columbus.

Jalen Sullinger (5'11 PG / Thomas Worthington / 2021): It has been known that when Sullinger is on Thomas Worthington is super hard to beat, and boy was that the case tonight. Finishing with an efficient 27 points and getting his teammates involved, the Kent State commit had it working from the opening tip. Sullinger has an elite handle, is a talented finisher and can make shots from anywhere on the floor, all things he out on display tonight. We were most impressed with the way he handled pressure from Canton McKinley and took care of the ball tonight, as he kept Thomas Worthington composed and got them good looks all night. Sullinger did a great job of attacking the rim against a backcourt with no matchup for him and also put together a solid defensive showing while taking a charge on that end. While some people might lose faith in Thomas Worthington at times, they are as good as anyone in the area when Sullinger has the offense clicking.

Omari Effiong (6'2 WF / Thomas Worthington / 2021): You won't find many role players in the area better at their job than Effiong. Doing what he does best tonight, the senior wing locked down West Virginia commit Kobe Johnson with his combination of size and defensive ability. He also took several charges and helped clean up the glass on that end as he always does. Offensively, Effiong hit a triple and had a tough finish inside, converting efficiently on his opportunities and taking what the defense gave him. When you have guys on your team who don't care about scoring or being in the spotlight you will find success and Omari is exactly one of those kids as he simply loves playing and more than that, winning.

Tyrese Hughey (6'7 PF / Thomas Worthington / 2021): In a tough matchup with Canton McKinley senior big Brent Walker, Hughey more than held his own on Saturday night and pieced together a solid performances. Using his body and motor to his advantage inside, the Furman commit threw down a big slam off of an offensive rebound and finished off an impressive score in the post on the game's opening possession. Continuing to showcase his improving shooting stroke, Hughey also nailed a triple in rhythm off the catch tonight after burying a couple earlier this week in a game that we saw against Olentangy. With his size and tools Hughey is a nightmare to defend when he's in a zone, as he is a perfect running mate to Sullinger as we saw tonight.

Joey Zalewski (6'3 WG / Thomas Worthington / 2023): While he will be a star at Thomas Worthington in the two years following this season, Zalewski is doing a great job playing the role he has been asked this winter on a loaded squad. Zalewski did just that again against Canton McKinley, playing solid team defense, rebounding and picking his spots well to find easy buckets. Zalewski has a solid frame and good athleticism that he showed off by finishing off an and-one lay in acrobatically off a lob pass. We were really impressed with how the sophomore finished inside and showed patience and strength near the rim on Saturday against a Canton McKinley interior with some serious size. When it's his turn to shine we can't wait to see what Zalewski does as he will certainly reap the benefits of doing his job for two seasons.

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