COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Gahanna got their revenge in a rematch of last year’s regional final on Friday night as the Lions downed Westerville Central 51-41 behind 20 points from Sean Jones.

Gahanna picked up full court to start the game and never lowered their defensive intensity. The pressure from the Lions caused tons of issues for the Warhawk guards. The Lions created numerous turnovers which led to easy buckets in transition, and they blitzed ball screens and kept the Westerville Central guards off balance.

Neither team could get their offense going as the first four minutes of the game led to a total of six points. Gahanna got a couple of layups to finish the 1st quarter with a 10-4 lead. Their defense was at its best in the second quarter, as the Lions held the Warhawks to just three points in the whole 2nd quarter. Gahanna made it a point of emphasis to get the ball inside. Their big man duo of Javan Simmons and Josh Whiteside got numerous touches in the paint and commanded the glass, while Marquette-signee Sean Jones had 11 first half points for the Lions.

Westerville Central’s offense gained a little more rhythm in the third quarter as they started to hit some shots from the outside. Donovan Hunter hit a trio of threes in the third quarter for Central as they cut into Gahanna’s lead. The Lions responded with a pair of threes of their own, and ended the 3rd with a 36-19 lead. Javan Simmons had 14 for Gahanna and Devin Martin had 13 points for the Warhawks. 

Sean Jones (6'0 G  / 2022 / Gahanna): When people say someone has the ball on a string, they are probably talking about Sean Jones. The senior point guard controlled the pace of the game and ran the offense for the Lions. He pushed the ball in transition to score easy layups, but also slowed it down to set up the halfcourt offense. Jones finished with 20 points on the night and hit two threes. Jones got inside at will and used a great combination of dribble moves to get his defender off balance, including a nice fade-away jumper over two defenders to beat the buzzer at the end of the 3rd period.

Cam Johnson (6'2 G / 2022 / Gahanna): Johnson was a key piece for Gahanna’s defensive pressure all night, as he was at the top of the halfcourt press for the Lions and applied constant pressure on Warhawks guards. Johnson had active hands all night and created tons of steals and deflections. He had three layups in transition after great defense on the other end. The senior guard also had a nice catch and shoot three after a nice pump fake.

Donovan Hunter (6'7 W / 2023 / Westerville Central): Hunter was the center of the Warhawks’ offense during the course of the game. His strength was shooting over the top of his defender. At 6-foot-7, Hunter was able to rise up over his defender and knock down three triples, two of which came off the dribble and one as a catch-and-shoot. He also got inside and drew fouls on the Lions defenders. He passed well out of the post and found open teammates. The junior finished with 14 points on the night.