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Stars of the Night: Friday's Top Boys Scorers

By Jake Spegal, 02/20/21, 10:45AM EST

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A look at the top scorers from Friday night's boys action in Central Ohio

Full Disclosure: If you want to be included in these articles, please email your box scores to 270hoops@gmail.com

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Do you guys remember the last time that Granville Christian junior Joe Benvie starred in one of these articles? That was when he dropped 51 points on Northside Christian a little over a month ago.

Nearly outdoing himself on Friday night, Benvie went off once again as he dropped 46 points in a 66-61 win over Mount Gilead.

Doing work in every single quarter, Benvie refused to let his team lose and put them on his back on the way to victory.

After scoring 10 points in first quarter, the junior stayed hot in the second frame where he scored 13 more to help Granville Christian build a 36-22 halftime lead.

Struggling to find any help, Benvie scored all eight of Granville Christian's points in the third quarter as Mount Gilead stormed back and tied the game at 44 heading into the final frame.

This is where Benvie really took the game over.

Nailing four triples in the frame and connecting on some clutch free throws late, the junior wing scored 15 points in the final quarter, nearly outscoring Mount Gilead as a team in the final eight minutes and willing his team to victory.

While he does not play OCC or City League level competition in MOCAL, Benvie has put up some scoring outbursts this season that simply can not be ignored.

He has now scored more than 20 points on nine occasions including showings of 51, 46 and 33 points.

Benvie is a lights out shooter with good length on the wing and he always plays aggressive as he knows that he is capable of taking a game over totally on his own against a lot of teams that Granville Christian plays.

With no clear favorite in the Division IV tournament this year in Columbus, Benvie very well could will the Lions to a district title if he can consistently take games over and adjust to opposing defensive gameplans.

While nobody else in the area had a 40+ point showing last night, there were several huge outbursts including three other 30+ point games, so let's take a look at them all below.

Jayden Nervis (6'5 WG / Hilliard Davidson / 2022): Turning in a dominant performance on Friday night, Nervis erupted for 35 points as Hilliard Davidson picked up a big league win over Upper Arlington. An offseason move-in, Nervis has put together some really impressive showings for the Wildcats this season. The junior has good length and positional size at 6-foot-5, is a good ball handler and is capable of knocking down shots from all three levels both off the catch and off the bounce. We also are a fan of the value that Nervis offers defensively as he can defend multiple positions. Keep an eye on Nervis and Hilliard Davidson heading into the tournament as they are a potential sleeper to watch out for.

TJ Pugh (6'5 WG / Shelby / 2021): Continuing his dominant senior season on Friday night, Pugh went off for 34 points as Shelby took down Pleasant 113-65. One of the top unsigned seniors in the area, Pugh is a 6-foot-5 wing with great size and scoring ability from all three levels. He has put up some huge numbers this season as he can score really efficiently when he gets in a rhythm. We do not expect Pugh to slow down at any time heading into the tournament as he has his sights set on helping Shelby reach new heights this postseason.

Caleb Brigle (5'11 G / Whetstone / 2021): Going for a season-high 33 points on Friday night, Brigle did all he could to help Whetstone come out on top as they fell to Marion-Franklin by two points in a battle. One of the best guards in the City League, we have become accustomed to seeing big scoring outputs from Brigle over the last few years. A volume shooter who can really fill it up when he gets going, Brigle consistently carries the load for the Braves and also does a good job of getting others involved. We love seeing kids like Caleb have big games as he works hard, never complains and is a great leader for Whetstone.

Lincoln Cunningham (6'1 WG / Fredericktown / 2021): In a tough loss to Granville on Friday night, Cunningham led all scorers with 28 points in the contest. With good length on the wing, Cunningham scores it in multiple ways and is also active defensively. We like the energy he brings and the way he leads the Freddies as well. Fredericktown has enjoyed a great season as they won the KMAC and have a chance to make some noise in the Division III tournament and Cunningham is a big part of that.

Other Notable Scorers:


Cortez Freeman

  • Garrett Meddock (5'11 G / Teays Valley / 2021): 26 points in an 82-75 loss to Canal Winchester
  • Cortez Freeman (6'2 WG / Canal Winchester / 2024): 25 points in an 82-75 win over Teays Valley
  • Seth Vaughn (5'8 WG / Grove City Christian / 2024): 24 points in a 72-64 loss to Lakewood
  • Sean Jones (5'11 PG / Gahanna / 2022): 21 points in a 57-42 win over Pickerington North
  • Elijah Hinton (6'7 PF / Newark / 2021): 20 points in a 52-20 win over Lancaster
  • Ian Schupp (6'5 WF / Worthington Kilbourne / 2021): 20 points in a 65-58 loss to Westerville South

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