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Back to Regionals: Pickerington Central defeats Upper Arlington 53-40

By Greg Glasser, 03/09/22, 8:15PM EST

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Styles takes over with six fourth quarter assists

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- The first of two regional semifinal doubleheaders started with top seeded Pickerington Central who outscored Upper Arlington by 11 in the second half as they secured a 53-40 victory. The Tigers advance to their first regional final appearance since 2019. 

After the Tigers survived a narrow victory against Olentangy Liberty in the district final, Pickerington Central was again victim to a hot shooting opponent in the first half. Upper Arlington connected on five three pointers, three from senior Quinn Corna.  On the other end, the Golden Bears put forth an impressive man-to-man defensive effort, but failed to contain the Tigers off the glass, most notably junior Devin Royal who collected five offensive rebounds and scored 11 points as Pickerington Central held a tight 22-20 halftime lead.

As the second half began, Pickerington Central's physicality began to take over while the high level shooting from Upper Arlington came to an abrupt end. The Tigers defensive intensity began to bother the Bears, as they went scoreless in the final four minutes, with three turnovers in the final five possessions. 

With momentum swung in Pickerington Central's favor, Tigers forward Sonny Styles took over in the form of a point guard. Challenged by a combination of stellar Upper Arlington defenders, Styles consistently was able to beat his man off the dribble and find at first, an open Royal underneath the hoop for three straight assists. The future Ohio State linebacker was just getting started. Styles then spread the wealth to junior Markell Johnson, who rattled off 10 straight points with 8 of those coming from Styles' three assists.  

Upper Arlington's Corna, who put forth an honorable effort with his team high 19 points, kept the Tigers lead somewhat in check due to his impressive drives through the paint and difficult finishes. Yet the Bears went zero-of-four from beyond the arc in the second half and never were able to get within seven points in the fourth quarter as the Tigers were able to avoid any late game drama and secure the 13-point victory.

After he had a relatively quiet 10 point performance in the district final, Royal was close to unstoppable on Wednesday. The first team all-district forward led with 24 points on 10-of-16 shooting. All of Royal's made field goals came around the rim, as the Bears had no match for him on the glass. He finished with nine rebounds, six of which from the offensive board.

Styles essentially stole the show in the fourth where he dished off six of his seven assists.  It was reminiscent of Styles' fourth quarter against Olentangy Liberty, as he helped the Tigers erase a seven point deficit. On a team that's packed with quality guards, Styles is such an athletic specimen that he is able to transform and emerge as a high-level point guard himself almost on command. 

Johnson scored all 10 of his points in the fourth quarter, as his role continues to grow with fellow junior Rasheem Biles sidelined with an injury for the remainder of the postseason. Sophomore Juwan Turner built upon his MVP-like performance from Saturday and finished with seven points. Junior Gavin Headings finished with two points and four rebounds.

While the Tigers move on to the regional final, the Bears graduate an army of seniors that helped Upper Arlington win their first district title since 2017. Corna remains one of the area's best unsigned seniors, as he impressed fans of both sides with his sharp-shooting in the first half and acrobatic finishes in the second. 

Senior forwards Nick Heath and Drew Graves both finished with six points. While Heath did not have his best shooting performance, both he and Graves gave more than valiant defensive efforts and combined for five blocks. Heath will play at Denison next season while the 6-foot-5 Graves is an unsigned quality Division III prospect.

The Tigers are now looking to head back to the state tournament for the first time since 2018. They will play the winner of #2 Gahanna and #3 Westerville South for a regional championship this Saturday at 7 p.m at Ohio Dominican.

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