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State of the City League: Week 8

By Mark Francis Jr., 01/18/22, 8:30AM EST

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A weekly look into City League basketball

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Welcome to the state of the City League, an article about the happenings in and around the area’s most passionate league! This was an interesting week, with games being played on five separate days over the past seven days. There was a big upset that happened on Livingston Avenue, a player shooting his way into the history books on the northside, and two events in which City League schools went unbeaten against out of conference opponents. So without further ado, take a look at all the action from last week across the City League and what’s to come this week as well! 

North Division

Action in the North kicked off with make-up games on Monday (1/10) as the Tigers from East took down International 42-35. Senior Kwalee Woods-Law led all scorers in the game with 16 points. East followed this up with a narrow road victory, 43-42 over Centennial (1/11) and then they dropped their final game of the week as they lost 56-50 to Whetstone at home (1/14). 

The loss to East on Monday was only the beginning of a tough week for the Lions as they hit a rough patch and lost four straight games. After the seven point loss, International played Mifflin and competed hard but ultimately fell to the Punchers 51-41 (1/11). Talented junior Sam Whitaker II was a bright spot as he led both teams in scoring with 22 points. The next day (1/12), Whitaker scored a team-high 14 in the 72-40 loss to North division leading Beechcroft. The tough week came to an end against Northland (1/14) when the Lions were defeated 60-45 at home. 

Mifflin had their 4-game win streak snapped, but it came at the end of the week. Before that happened, they started the week off with a 65-43 statement win at Whetstone (1/10) as senior Josh Allen dropped in 15 and junior Abdiaziz Mohamed added 14 points to go along and lead the Punchers on the road. Next, was the 51-41 win over International (1/11), as sophomore Lethanial Foster Jr. led the team with 16 in the victory. The surge was quelled on Friday (1/15) when Linden came to Mifflin and took them down by a score of 61-41. Foster Jr. once again led them in scoring with 11 points. 

Whetstone was in the midst of a four-game skid until they snapped it at the end of the week. They opened the week with the loss to Mifflin (1/10), a game in which sophomore Shiaman Diawara was the team leader in scoring with nine points. The next day (1/11), the Braves hosted Linden and were taken down by a score of 75-59. The final loss before the losing streak was at Northland by a score of 74-49 and freshman Noah Knostman scored 16 to lead Whetstone in scoring. Whetstone’s four-game slide was snapped with a 56-50 win at East.

The Centennial Stars continue to get better, despite the results of the games. The one point 43-42 loss to East was a tough pill to swallow but they got back on their horse and played Beechcroft tough on Friday (1/14), trailing by only eight entering the fourth quarter. Centennial ultimately fell to the Cougars 71-53. Junior Ahmed Ayed scored 19 points to keep the Stars alive in the game. 

Northland started off the week on a down note, losing to Beechcroft 64-58 (1/11) in what was their only loss of the week. Senior leader Rob Dorsey III led a Vikingsteam that had four players in double digits with 19 points. A 74-49 win against Whetstone (1/13) began what has turned into a three-game winning streak. Much like Raiden, junior Davion Bridges’ shot was electric coming out of his hand as he drained 10 threes en route to scoring 36 points in the victory. They followed that up with a 60-45 win over International (1/14) then participated in Battle in the 614 event on Saturday (1/15) at Ohio Dominican and defeated Dublin Jerome 36-33. 

Linden-McKinley picked up back-to-back road wins this past week, starting with the 75-59 win at Whetstone (1/11) where the senior duo of LA Walker and LB Towns Jr. once again shined in the scoring column. Walker, the most consistent scorer in the City League, easily scored 24 points and Towns Jr. added 23 while senior sleeper Malakhi Armistead pitched in 15 efficient points. The Panthers then traveled to Mifflin on Friday where LA Walker’s 19 led the way in a 61-41 win over the Punchers. 

North division leading Beechcroft came off their loss to Hilliard Bradley and tore through the competition this past week, first taking down Northland 64-58 behind 19 points from standout senior Amani Lyles and 18 from another senior, Antwoin Reed. The Cougars then used 24 points from Lyles to beat International 72-40 (1/12) and a team effort to go on the road and beat Centennial 71-53. A quartet of Cougar seniors scored over 15 points, Lyles scored 15, senior point guard JJ Simmons pitched in 17, Jamari Strickland added 18 and Anthony Watkins led them all with 19 points. 

South Division

The week in the South division kicked off on Monday (1/10) as the Bulldogs from South High School beat Independence 60-51, snapping their three-game losing streak and beginning a new streak. South then took down Eastmoor Academy (1/14) 56-53, being led by freshman Damon Griffin’s 13 points, junior Desean Pollard’s 11 and sophomore Maurice McCall’s excellent defense. They ended the week with a 62-42 win over Dayton Ponitz at Ohio Dominican in the Battle in the 614 event. 

Meanwhile, after losing to South, the Sixers continued their skid with a 63-47 loss to Walnut Ridge (1/11). Junior point guard Antony Lowery led the way for Independence with 11 points. Friday, the Sixers lost a three-point heartbreaker to Marion-Franklin by a score of 60-57. Independence has dropped six of their last eight games, but this slide is not indicative of how hard this team plays for each other and their coaches.

Briggs started their week with what turned out to be the last of a three-game skid, a losing effort to Africentric on Monday (1/10) by a score of 79-36. The Bruins then reeled off back-to-back wins, beginning the next day (1/11) by beating Marion-Franklin 82-60. Senior scoring machine Devonte Curry continued to put up big numbers by scoring 29 points against the Red Devils, he was joined by juniors Saadiq Reeves and Jaquise Keaton added 18 and 17 points respectively. In the City League’s west side rivalry game, the Bruins took care of West 69-35 (1/14) and Curry added another 29 points to his resume. The senior knocked down 12 threes in those two games. 

The Red Devils split their games this past week, being defeated by Briggs 82-60 despite a 30 piece from sophomore Tito Glass. They followed that up with a three point win over Independence, 60-57 in which Glass was a star once again. The sophomore has some of the most talent that we’ve seen from any player in his class.

West dropped both of their games this week, the first being a 68-53 loss to Walnut Ridge (1/12) where senior Andre Smith and freshman Kahdon Johnson combined to score 21 points. The Cowboys then were taken out in the rivalry game against Briggs by a score of 69-35. 

Eastmoor Academy has officially hit the rough patch of their season, dropping both games this week and have now dropped three straight overall. After losing to Pickerington North last week, the Warriors were beaten by Africentric 63-57 (1/11) in a battle for first place in the City League 
South. On Friday, South came into Eastmoor and beat them once again by three, 56-53. Dennis Asoro continued his rebound exhibition, grabbing 17 against the Nubains along with 20 points then another 12 to go with his 12 points against South. 

The Scots from Walnut Ridge had a big week, first they routed Independence 63-47 (1/11) and were led by senior sniper Zion Blevins with 21 points. Next, they upset the City League South leading Africentric Nubians 77-60 (1/14), Blevins scored 25 and electric sophomore point guard Dominique Aekins added 24. Finally, the Scots participated in the Battle in the 614 event Saturday (1/15) and blew out Thurgood Marshall by a score of 75-38. The sophomore duo of Aekins and Na’Varion Adam scored 15 a piece while the Scots in total had five players in double digits, playing together, one could say they were in sync. 

Africentric started the week with the 79-36 win over Briggs, senior leader Dan Wagner led the team with 19 points and he was followed by junior Dailyn Swain with 16. Five Nubians were in double figures in the win over the Bruins. They followed up that performance with the 63-57 win over Eastmoor Academy, Josiah Smith led four Nubains in double digits with 13 points. The Walnut Ridge loss stunned the Nubians, who were led in scoring by Preston Steele’s 18 points. That loss did not phase the talented bunch, they went to the Flyin’ To The Hoop event on Saturday (1/15) and took down Oakwood behind Swain’s 16 points.

Upcoming This Week

After such a busy week, action somewhat gets back to normal in the City League. On Wednesday, Linden-McKinley will travel to top rated Bloom Carroll in what will be a test for both Division II teams. Saturday, two North teams will visit tough competition as Northland visits Thomas Worthington and Centennial travels to Buckeye Valley. 

On Tuesday, two big South division games will take place as Eastmoor Academy travels to 4841 to do battle with Walnut Ridge and South visits Africentric. Wednesday, Walnut Ridge takes a trip all the way up Hamilton Road to visit Sean Jones and a talent rich Gahanna Lincoln team. The guard matchup between Jones and Walnut Ridge sophomore Dominique Aekins will have the city buzzing. 

Saturday, the three top teams will take on out-of-league opponents as Hilliard Bradley takes on Africentric at the Play By Play Classic at Ohio Dominican, Whitehall goes to Eastmoor Academy in the Samaki Walker Alma Mater Game and Olentangy Orange hosts Walnut Ridge in a matchup that has been highly entertaining for the last few seasons. 

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