COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Welcome to the state of the City League, an article about the happenings in and around the area’s most passionate league! In this article, we look back at the week that was and look forward to the week that will be. There was a City League North team that took down one of the top teams in the district and the City League South went 0-4 in non-league games on Saturday. With some movement happening on some teams due to grades, personnel has changed around the City League which will lead to newer faces getting opportunities as the regular-season gets ready to wind down. 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! 

The week up north started on Tuesday (1/18) with all the teams taking the court and the favorites taking the win. Beechcroft and Linden cruised to 30-plus point victories over East and International respectively. Amani Lyles dominated the game, scoring 27 points in the win at East while the senior trio of LA Walker, LB Towns Jr. and Malakhi Armistead all scored over 20 for the Panthers. Northland also knocked off Mifflin 55-48 at home in a game where Mifflin cut a 17-point deficit to two in the final frame.

Senior Rob Dorsey III had 24 to lead both teams in scoring. The game of the night came from Centennial and Whetstone as the Braves held down home court and picked up a 45-42 victory. 

On Wednesday (1/19), two north division squads took trips, first, International blew the doors off of Oakstone Academy 82-25. Junior Jujuan McLester had himself a night, scoring a career-high 32 points while his 2023 classmate Sam Whitaker II added in 21 for the Lions. Also on Wednesday, Linden-McKinley went into a hostile Bloom Carroll environment to take on a team with one loss and handed them their second as the Panthers walked out the gym with a 42-39 victory. The defensive gameplan, execution, ability and intensity was on full display for the Panthers as they made the Bulldogs play a gritty game and came out on top. LB Towns Jr. scored 15 to lead the team in scoring but it was the other end of the court that was most impressive for every Panther. 

International had another non-league game on Thursday (1/20) when Genoa Christiain visited the Lions and left with a loss. The Lions dispatched of the opposition by a score of 73-30, once again the junior duo of Jujuan McLester and Sam Whitaker II combined for 41 total points between them. 

Friday (1/21) was when all four teams stepped back onto the hardwood and again all of the favorites had double-digit wins. Beechcroft hit AMG mode once again and scored over 80 points in a win, this time it was in an 81-35 win over Mifflin. Seniors Amani Lyles and Jamari Strickland scored 25 and 22 a piece to pace the Cougars while senior point guard JJ Simmons added in 18.

Northland only allowed Centennial to score 24 points in the 59-24 win over the Stars for the Vikings with Dorsey scoring 23 points and leading his team to a win.

Two days after a big, emotional win over Bloom Carroll, Linden-McKinley got a 10-point win at home over East by a 65-55 final score. LA Walker got back to his scoring ways, exploding for 37 points against the Tigers. Whetstone once again won a three-point thriller, this time in a 52-49 win over what was a hot International team. 

The lone City League North team to play on Saturday (1/22) was Centennial, who took on a tough Buckeye Valley on the road and fell by a 60-35 final score. 

Bad start for road teams to start the week, every City League South team that went on the road Tuesday (1/18) lost by double-digits.

West bested Marion-Franklin 60-44 behind senior Andre Smith and his 17 points. South put up a tough fight through three quarters but Africentric was too much for the Bulldogs, senior Dan Wagner and junior Dailyn Swain both scored 25 points as the Nubians pulled away in the final quarter and won 66-54. 20 points from Briggs’ senior scorer Devonte Curry was not enough to overcome 25 points and 12 rebounds from Independence senior Reighn Lowery, as the Sixers took down the Bruins 72-54.

Eastmoor dropped their fourth straight game when they lost to rival Walnut Ridge by a score of 64-50. Walnut Ridge senior Zion Blevins, one of the best shooters in the City League, led the way for the Scots with 20 points and sophomore blur of a point guard Dominique Aekins added 18 himself. 

On Wednesday (1/19), Walnut Ridge faced a challenge as they visited a loaded Gahanna Lincoln team that features the best point guard in Central Ohio (and all of Ohio, honestly) in Marquette signee Sean Jones along with the Toledo commit and menace in the paint Javan Simmons. The Scots lost to the Lions 77-58, and while Jones had 23 points, Aekin’s 22 points turned heads, raised eyebrows and whatever other cliche that means impressed. Going head-to-head with the state’s best will prepare him for many things that will come his way in the future. 

With the Eastmoor Academy-West game being canceled, it left three games on the slate for Friday night (1/21). South dispatched of southside rival Marion-Franklin 72-55, being the only team in the south to win their home game. Africentric completed the season sweep of Independence, defeating them 74-48 and being led by the 30-piece McNugget from Dailyn Swain. Briggs’ Devonte Curry put up 33 points and kept his Bruins in the game as long as he could but his team fell to Walnut Ridge 74-64. Senior Tyree Morgan broke out and scored 27 points and added 26 rebounds while sophomore Na’Varion Adams pitched in 21 to hold off the Bruins. 

No City League South team won a game on Saturday (1/22), going 0-4, with two teams taking a loss at the Jared Sullinger Play-by-Play Classic. South fell to Thomas Worthington 49-42 and Africentric lost to Hilliard Bradley, 51-42. Swain led the Nubains with 17 points in the game.

Whitehall came into Eastmoor and used KJ Satterfield’s 16 points to overcome Dennis Asoro’s 23 points and 23 rebounds to defeat the Warriors 65-61. The Warriors were hit hard with losses due to grades, but battled the Rams until the bitter end.

Walnut Ridge walked into Olentangy Orange and could not defeat them, losing 83-56, despite another sensational performance from Aekins. The sophomore scored 33 points to lead the Scots and once again proved he is amongst the elite sophomore point guards in the area. 

The week starts on Monday with the biggest match-up of the season, regardless of division, as Beechcroft visits Linden-McKinley in a game that will not only decide the North, but it will give the winner a leg up come tournament time. We expect this to be the City League game of the year as both teams are contenders of district titles this season and are led by experienced seniors that are flat out winners. The Panthers will follow that up with a home tilt against an evolving Northland team that has won five straight games. 

In the City League South, three teams host out of conference competition as Pickerington Central visits Africentric in a battle between two of the most highly touted juniors in the area; Central’s Devin Royal and Africentric’s Dailyn Swain. These two talents can do everything on the court and it will be interesting to see how they play on Saturday. Dayton Stivers also will visit Eastmoor Academy while Bexley goes to Independence on Saturday.