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OCC Weekly: A dive inside the OCC (Dec. 15)

By Chintoo Deora, 12/15/21, 5:15PM EST

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

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- The last week in the OCC provided some great games and performances, as six players are averaging 20 or more points per game in conference play. Dublin Coffman’s Ajay Sheldon leads the OCC with 26.5 points per game, and Ethan Smith from Olentangy is second with 22.5 per game. Jerry Saunders from Pickerington North sits at third with 21.5 ppg. Cade Norris (Hillard Bradley) and Quinn Corna (Upper Arlington) are tied for fourth with 21 per game. Kenyatta Whiteside leads Groveport Madison with 20 points per game.

In this article, I will recap the last week around the OCC and preview the games ahead.

Buckeye Division

The Buckeye division is the only division in the OCC where all teams have a winning record. However, no team in the Buckeye is undefeated in divisional play with all teams being 1-1 versus their rivals. After a commanding 71-53 win over Dayton Dunbar, the Tigers of Pickerington Central have sole possession of first place at 4-1. The other 4 win team, Groveport Madison, picked up a 78-67 win over Canal Winchester and was led by Kenyatta Whiteside’s 27 points. Central Crossing and Lancaster both sit at 3-1 tied for second in the division. Newark and Reynoldsburg both hold records of 3-2 with Reynoldsburg beating Newark 56-50 in their last game.

Capital Division

Westerville South sits atop the Capital as one of only three undefeated teams in the OCC with a record of 5-0. Drey Carter’s 13 points led them to a narrow 45-43 win against crosstown rival Westerville North. Delaware Hayes also has 5 wins and is a half-game back of South in the division. Jake Loman and Jesse Burris combined for 38 points as Hayes topped Marysville 46-44 in a game that went down to the wire. Worthington Kilbourne is 3-1 after losing their first game of the year against Hayes, 69-56. Canal Winchester and Westerville North both own records of 3-2 and are in the middle of the pack in the Capital. 

Cardinal division

The Cardinal division only has one team with a winning record, Dublin Jerome. The Celtics have back to back wins against Thomas Worthington (62-58) and Marysville (64-31). Marysville, Olentangy and Olentangy Berlin all have records of 1-3 and Marysville beat Hillard Darby 62-56 in their second game of the year. Olentangy beat Berlin 58-49 in their first game of the year. Berlin beat River Valley 61-50 as their only win of the year.

Central Division

Upper Arlington and Hillard Davidson both are undefeated at 4-0 on the year. Davidson beat rival Hillard Bradley 48-43 as Ryan Paris and Jayden Nervis both dropped in 18 to keep their team perfect. UA beat Olentangy Liberty 57-48 behind 21 points from Quinn Corna. Dublin Coffman has sole possession of third place with a record of 3-1. The Shamrocks beat Parkersburg South, 73-61, led by Ajay Sheldon’s 21 points. Hillard Bradley and Olentangy Orange both hold records of 2-2. Bradley was led by Cade Norris’ 17 points in a 48-45 win over Hillard Darby. Orange also beat Darby in their last game and were fueled by Joel Addo’s 12 points.

Ohio Division

Gahanna claimed first place in the OCC-Ohio and moved to 4-0 after a dominant 63-28 win over New Albany. Sean Jones and Javan Simmons combined for 28 points to keep the Lions perfect. Pickerington North is behind them at 4-1 after a 71-20 blowout win over Westland. The back-court duo of Jerry Saunders and Dior Conners combined for 37 in the win. New Albany and Westerville Central both have 3 wins to their names. The Eagles narrowly beat St. Charles 64-61 led by Justin Perry’s 23 points. Central beat Grove City 47-37 as Dallas Tucker dropped 14 points.

Looking Ahead…

We have games all three days this weekend around the OCC as some teams will continue their hot starts and others will look to right the ship.

There are 15 games in the OCC on Friday night, starting with Gahanna and Westerville Central playing in a rematch of last years’ regional final where Tasos Cook hit a half court buzzer beater as Central downed Gahanna. The game definitely left a bitter taste in the Lions’ mouth and they will look for revenge Friday night. Pickerington Central and Groveport Madison will play in a battle of four-win OCC-Buckeye teams. Another big game in the Buckeye is Central Crossing versus Newark. Dublin Coffman can move into first place in the Central with a win vs Hillard Davidson. In a game of 3-2 teams, Canal Winchester will travel to Westerville North in a key OCC-Capital game. Delaware Hayes can become the leaders of the Capital division with a win on the road against Westerville South.

Saturday will provide some non-conference games for six teams in the OCC. Upper Arlington and Reyondburg will both welcome city league opponents as Arlington takes on Briggs and Reynoldburg takes on Walnut Ridge. Newark will play Waverly in a neutral-site matchup.

If you couldn’t get enough OCC basketball Friday and Saturday, we have a four-game slate that runs all day Sunday at Capital. There are two OCC matchups as Westerville Central takes on Olentangy Liberty and Pickerington North takes on Hillard Davidson. The later games are the big ones. Gahanna will play St. Ignatius and the nightcap features Hillard Bradley vs Walsh Jesuit.

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