skip navigation

Stars of the Night: Friday's Top Boys Scorers

By Jake Spegal, 12/18/21, 10:45AM EST

Share

Canal Winchester's Derrick James goes off for 33 points to headline this edition of stars of the night

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

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- We have yet another first in this edition of stars of the night as for the first time all season, it will be headlined by a player who turned in a monster performance in a losing effort.

Exploding for 33 points, four assists and four rebounds last night, Canal Winchester senior guard Derrick James did all he could to power the Indians past Westerville North in a tough loss.

After an off night on Tuesday where he could only muster nine points against Groveport Madison, James came back with a vengeance on Friday, dicing up the Westerville North defense all night and scoring it in a handful of ways.

With an elite combination of quickness, ball handling and shooting ability, the senior guard is really tough to slow down at times as he can create his own shot off the dribble with ease.

Since transferring to Canal Winchester in the offseason, James has put up some big time numbers such as a 26 point showing in a win over Dublin Scioto as well.

We know good and well the offensive ability of James and are not surprised by this at all, but we also know he is a fierce competitor who wants to help these big time individual games turn into wins.

One of the craftiest guards in the area, James still has plenty of time to help Canal Winchester right the ship as the OCC-Capital is an extremely competitive division that is totally up for grabs this season.

With plenty of time left in the season, the senior guard will look to step up even more as a leader in order to help the Indians put together a win streak moving forward.

Along with James' 33 point outing on Friday, there were some other excellent showings in the area as well including two teammates who combined for 51 points, so let's take a look at them below.

Keegan Holmstrom (6'0 G / Grove City / 2024): After combining for just 30 points in his first five games of the season, Holmstrom caught fire last night and went for 26 as Grove City suffered a single-digit loss to Pickerington North on the road. Doing a lot of his damage from beyond the arc, Holmstrom nailed six three's in the contest and also converted on four two-point field goals. While the sophomore is one of the state's best 2024 baseball prospects and is a sure-fire Division I kid on the diamond, evidently he can fill it up on the court as well.

LA Walker (6'5 WG / Linden-McKinley / 2022): Continuing what has been one of the best starts to the season anywhere in the area, Walker dropped 26 points last night as Linden-McKinley dominated Centennial in a 27 point win. Walker has been on an absolute tear to start the season as Friday marked his fifth 20+ point game and third 25+ point game of the season already. With a good combination of size, strength and shot making ability at the guard spot, Walker is a tough matchup in the City League as he can hurt you from the perimeter but also will make his way inside and finish at the rim. With LB Towns back in action now as well, Linden-McKinley has a great chance to win the City League North as we are all anticipating their January 7 matchup with Beechcroft.

Mick Mead (6'0 G / Centerburg / 2022): In a close win over Northmor last night, Mead scored 26 of Centerburg's 47 points to power the Trojans to a big league win on the road. The senior guard was consistent all night, going for 13 points in the first half and 13 points in the second half to help lead his team to a victory. Mead nailed three triples and also went 9-for-12 at the line, hitting five foul shots in the final quarter to seal the deal for the Trojans. A player with several years of varsity experience, Mead has really stepped up this season after Centerburg graduated Carter Jones in the 2021 class. In Centerburg's last three games, all of which have been league wins, the senior is averaging over 23 points a contest and is helping the Trojans remain amongst the best in the KMAC.

LB Towns (5'10 G / Linden-McKinley / 2022): Dominating alongside Walker on Friday night, Towns went for 25 points as the duo nearly outscored Centennial by themselves in the win. After being forced to sit out a few games to start the season, Towns is off to an excellent start this year. Averaging 20 points through three games, the senior is using his combination of quickness, handling ability and finishing ability to get inside and score along with hitting shots from the perimeter. A multi-sport athlete who is excellent in the classroom, comes from a great family and is a great leader who works extremely hard, Towns would be a great pickup for any program in need of guard play.

Ajay Sheldon (6'1 G / Dublin Coffman / 2022): In a tough loss to Hilliard Davidson last night, Sheldon continued to do what he does best, dropping 25 points in the contest. There are only a few guards in the area who can score it as well as Sheldon as players like himself and Gahanna's Sean Jones simply make basketball look easy when they are playing. Averaging 24.6 points a night through five games, Sheldon has not scored less than 22 points in a single game this season as the Ohio U signee has been on a tear in his senior campaign. The senior guard is one the area's elite shooters, is a crafty finisher, gets where he wants to off the dribble and also gets his teammates involved. Despite a loss last night, teams like Dublin Coffman can be a scary matchup late in the season as they rely heavily on the three ball and can really make some noise when they get hot.

Other Notable Scorers


Cooper Davis

  • Grant Bentley (6'2 G / Northmor / 2024): 24 points in a 47-40 loss to Centerburg
  • Na'Varion Adams (6'5 F / Walnut Ridge / 2024): 23 points in a 77-20 win over Marion-Franklin
  • Caleb Iheukwu (6'5 WF / Westerville North / 2022): 23 points in a 75-65 win over Canal Winchester
  • Cooper Davis (6'4 WG / Olentangy Liberty / 2022): 22 points in a 52-41 win over Hilliard Bradley
  • Cade Ziegler (6'4 W / Fairbanks / 2022): 22 points in a 58-31 win over Triad

Recent News


Get the 270 Hoops Preview Magazine today!

Subscribe to 270 Hoops Mailing List!

Email Address:
Favorite High School:
First Name:
Last Name:
Subscribe