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OCC Weekly: A dive inside of the OCC

By Chintoo Deora, 12/09/21, 10:15AM EST

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OCC Weekly takes a look at basketball across Ohio's biggest conference

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- It has been a crazy first opening couple of weeks in the OCC. In this article, I will recap the first week’s action and preview this weekend’s big games.

Buckeye Division


Sohn McGee has the Central Crossing program on his shoulders after leading them to their first ever 3-0 start.

Central Crossing beat Bishop Ready on Tuesday to become 3-0 for the first time in school history. They are led by Sonny McGee who averages 16 ppg and Isaiah Bridges who averages 14 ppg. Groveport Madison is the other undefeated team in the division as they moved to 3-0 after a close 66-65 win over Reynoldsburg. Madison is led by a duo of Duane Davis (18.3 ppg) and Kenyatta Whiteside (12.3 ppg). Newark is a half-game back in the division with a record of 3-1. They pulled off a nice upset win over Pickerington Central led by 22 points from Grant Burkholder. Burkholder averages 17.2 a game along with 13 ppg from Ethan Schell. Lancaster and Pick Central both sit at 2-1. On Tuesday, Central beat cross-town rivals Pick North 77-60 led by 20 points from Devin Royal. Central is a team that has state championship hopes and will look to win this division. Lancaster is led by Sam Finck’s 17.5 ppg and Kolson Pugh’s 14.5 ppg. 

Capital Division


After tragically losing his father a day before the season tipped off, Drey Carter is heroically leading Westerville South

Westerville South currently sits atop the division with a record of 4-0 after a dominant 80-55 win over Big Walnut. South is led by seniors Drey Carter (11.5 ppg) and Reign Winston (12.5). Worthington Kilbourne is also undefeated at 3-0 and is led by 16.7 ppg from Ayden Parsons. Kilbourne picked up an impressive 58-29 win over Dublin Scioto on Tuesday. Delaware Hayes and Westerville North are both 3-1 with Canal Winchester behind them at 2-1. Hayes suffered their first loss at the hands of North, 68-32. Their leading scorer is Jesse Burris with 18.5 ppg and he had 13 in Tuesday’s loss. Westerville North lost their opener to Gahanna and was led by Carter Resse with 11 ppg. Canal is coming off a 78-49 win over Franklin Heights where Cortez Freeman and BJ Eshun dropped 15 points. Franklin Heights is sitting at 1-2 after rolling over Westland 80-47 on Wednesday night behind a balanced scoring effort.

Cardinal Division


Marysville is awaiting the return of star sophomore Jason Moore, who has been out with injury in the early season

Every team in this division has a loss, with Olentangy, Dublin Jerome, Marysville, and Olentangy Berlin all sitting at 1-1. Olentangy was riding high with momentum after taking down Olentangy Berlin last week but suffered a loss on Wednesday against Buckeye Valley. The backcourt duo of Jack Huskey and Ethan Smith are averaging a combined 33 points per game. Jerome beat Thomas Worthington last Friday 62-58 and got help from Sasha Stavroff who scored a game-high 18 points. Stavroff is their current scoring leader with 16 ppg. Marysville is led by Nick Weaver, who averages 14 ppg. Marysville will play a pair of games this weekend, one on Friday vs Dublin Jerome and one on Saturday vs Delaware Hayes. Berlin will play Darby and Scioto this weekend and is led by Jason Inbody who averages 12.5 per game. 

Central Division


Quinn Corna and Upper Arlington are looking to stay hot in a loaded division

Upper Arlington and Hillard Davidson are the lone undefeated teams atop of the Central division. UA is led by Nick Heath (23 ppg) and Quinn Corona (20 ppg). The Golden Bears have earned wins over Watkins Memorial (11/24), Hillard Bradley (12/3), and Grove City (12/7). Davidson is led by Peyton Frey who has averaged 15.5 ppg so far this year. They dominated Westland 75-39 and narrowly beat Olentangy Orange 47-44. The Wildcats improved to 3-0 with a quality road win at Linden-McKinley on Wednesday. The middle of the OCC-Cardinal consists of Hillard Bradley (2-1) along with Dublin Coffman and Olentangy Orange who both have records of 1-1. Bradley is led by Cade Norris who has averaged 16.5 ppg so far this year. His running mate, Jeb Bischoff, averages 15 ppg and the two are key pieces for Bradley this year. Coffman is led by Ohio commit Ajay Sheldon who had 29 points in Coffman’s 58-47 win over Liberty. Orange is led by Eddie Brown (11 ppg) and Elias Lewis (10.5 ppg). Their first win came over Westerville Central, 47-34 on Tuesday where the Pioneers did an excellent job of sharing the ball and finding quality looks.

Ohio Division


Until they're beaten, Sean Jones and Gahanna Lincoln will remain at No. 1 in the area

Gahanna and New Albany share the lead in the OCC-Ohio division with both teams sitting at 3-0. The Lions of Gahanna are led by Marquette commit Sean Jones (18.5 ppg) and Toledo commit Javan Simmon (12.5 ppg). They had big wins over Westland (79-31) and Cincinnati Taft (65-32). The Eagles of New Albany are led by a senior duo of Justin Perry (18.3 ppg) and Josh Evans (12.7 ppg). They have two close wins versus St. Charles (64-61) and Dayton Dunbar (47-46). The middle of the Ohio division is made up of Pickerington North and Westerville Central. North is led by a backcourt duo of Jerry Saunders (18.2 ppg) and Dior Conners (15.5). North has squeaked out wins over Westerville Central (55-52) and St. Vincent St. Marys (85-83) before falling to Pickerington Central on Tuesday. Westerville Central is led by Donovon Hunter with 15.2 ppg. The state runner-ups from a year ago are looking to run the table again this year. At the bottom of the conference sit Grove City and Westland. The Greyhounds are 2-3 with wins over Teays Valley and Briggs. Junior guard Daniel Fetty leads Grove City with 11.2 ppg on the season. Westland checks in at 1-4 with its lone win coming over West on Monday. Senior guard Glenn Dably has made his presence felt in the area after transferring into Westland from the Bronx, averaging 17.5 ppg on the year.

Looking ahead...

We have a busy weekend of action around the OCC. Some teams are looking to get back on track and others are looking to prove their dominance. 

New Albany will host Gahanna in a battle of undefeated OCC-Ohio teams and look to prove themselves after a hot start. We also have a pair of cross-town rivalries happening on Friday night. Westerville South hosts Westerville North and Hillard Bradley hosts Hillard Davidson. Delaware Hayes and Worthington Kilbourne square off in a clash of teams atop the OCC-Capital Division. Ryan Nutter and Dublin Jerome will host Nick Weaver and Marysville.  Central Crossing will get the toughest test of the early season when Pickerington Central comes to town on Friday.

We will learn a lot about some teams after a busy weekend in Central Ohio. 

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