PICKERINGTON, Ohio -- Grant Burkholder and Steele Meister combined for 40 points to lead Newark to a 47-42 upset win over Pickerington Central on Friday night.

The name of the game for Newark was limiting turnovers and preventing Pick Central from getting the ball inside. They clogged the paint all game which limited Central’s ability to get the ball inside.

Pickerington Central had to settle for three’s most trips down the floor. Newark switched between zones during the game which confused the Pickerington Central guards. Newark also controlled the tempo of the game which suited their style of offense. 

Burkholder had 22 points while Meister had 18. Newark built a 13-8 lead at the end of the first quarter by playing hard and hitting their shots. Six of Centrals’ first eight points were putbacks from offensive rebounds by Devin Royal. Other than that, Central couldn’t generate any offense. 

The offense picked up in the second quarter as the score was tied 22-22 as both teams headed into the locker rooms. 

Pickerington Central found most of their success on the offensive end when the ball went inside. Their size overpowered Newark but they rarely got the ball inside. Royal finished with 14 points and Juwan Turner dropped in 9. Central tried to beat the zone by shooting threes but their shots were just not falling. 

With 3:49 left in the game, the score was tied 35-35. After both teams traded baskets, Newark took a six point lead after an and-one basketball from Meister. 

Royal hit a three to cut the lead to three with less than a minute left. From an out-of-bounds under play, Royal got another open three but missed, however Pickerington Central regained possession after the ball went out of bounds.

With another shot to tie it, Pickerington Central could not get it done as Sonny Styles lost the ball out of bounds following a missed three by Josh Harlan.

Burkholder then hit five free throws in the last minute to seal the game for Newark.

Grant Burkholder (2023 PG / Newark): Burkholder gets buckets, simple as that. The point guard played under control the whole game and only took good shots. The 5-foot-9 junior hit three triples and did a great job using screens to get open. Because he is a shooting threat, Central’s players had to close out hard which allowed Burkholder to get inside for easy layups. He penetrated inside and found open teammates multiple times. Burkholder will be a key piece for Newark this season. He was also the best leader on the floor on Friday night.

Steele Meister (2024 WG / Newark): Meister was a force inside for Newark and showed his ability to finish around taller defenders. Meister finished with 18 points while hitting one three. He was able to take defenders off the dribble and keep them off balance. He did a good job boxing out the bigger players and grabbed numerous rebounds. We were really impressed with the way that Meister did not back down from more athletic defenders, taking Styles and Royal to the rim off the dribble for several scores.

Devin Royal (2023 WF / Pick Central): Royal was the focus on offense for the Tigers last night. He finished with 14 points and hit a big three with a minute left in the game. Royal wasn’t able to take a defender one on one due to Newark’s zone. Every time he caught the ball, two or three Newark defenders swarmed him. Royal did a great job on the offensive glass and had multiple put backs. If Pickerington Central got Royal the ball on the perimeter more he would have had more opportunities to score, but Newark did a great job of making Pickerington Central’s supporting cast beat them.