GROVE CITY, Ohio -- Pickerington North put their perfect 5-0 record on the line Friday night in a road matchup against an experienced Grove City team.

Both teams entered this year with OCC-Ohio title aspirations and the Panthers took a huge step forward with a 50-43 win in a heated game that would come down to the wire.

The Panthers would set the tone early, picking up Grove City full court and not making it easy to get into their offense. Sophomore guard Arness Lawson was in attack mode early getting a couple steals and transition buckets to get Pickerington North out to a quick 9-2 lead in the first quarter.

Lawson gave Grove City guards trouble all night with his constant ball pressure and in-your-face defense while also pacing the Panthers with seven of his team high 16 points in the first half.

Ending the quarter leading 15-10, the Panthers were controlling the pace of the game with the play of their young guards and getting out in transition. 

Starting the second quarter, Grove City started getting the ball in the paint turning to big men Kraig Gilbert had eight points in the first half, all in the paint. Gilbert made a couple skilled post moves, finishing around a defender and showed some toughness getting his shot blocked, recovering, and going back up through contact cutting the lead to 26-23 late in the second quarter. 

With Lawson on the bench with two fouls, the Panthers began attacking the Grove City bigs inside led by seniors Jeff Amapps and Kaedyn Dunbar-White. Both had a height disadvantaged but instead utilized their quickness and athleticism to get to the rim and finish over their defenders and took a 30-25 lead into halftime.

The second half started similar to the first with Pickerington North picking up full court and causing the veteran Grove City guards into some uncharacteristic turnovers and that’s when things started to get heated between the two teams. 

Lawson and Grove City guard Graydon Hutchison both got technical fouls for some exchanging of words and shortly after, Amapps got a steal and took it the length of the court for a lay-in, only to be blocked from behind by Daniel Fetty.

However, the refs didn’t see it that way and Fetty was whistled for a shooting foul, in which he didn’t talk fondly to and was hit with a technical foul of his own.

Pickerington North freshman JR Bates calmly stepped to the line and hit both of the technical free-throws in a restless gymnasium to give the Panthers a 39-29 lead late in the third quarter.

Grove City needed a spark to stay alive and Campton Williams was just the gut to do so getting an offensive rebound and finishing in traffic for an and-1 in the final seconds of the third quarter cutting the lead to 39-31. 

A pair of threes from point guard Kevin Gallagher brought the Greyhounds within four with 2:30 seconds left in the game, but clutch free-throw shooting down the stretch allowed the Panthers to escape with a 50-43 win and improve to 3-0 in the OCC-Ohio heading into the holidays.

Pickerington North will look to continue their winning streak on Sunday against a tough St. Charles team at Capital University, while Grove City will look to ounce back on Monday night against Bishop Watterson.

1. Clutch free throw shooting down the stretch: In the fourth quarter Pickerington North went 7-10 from the line which included 5-6 in the final 2:30 seconds. The easiest way to put away an opponent that is trying to make a comeback is to make the free ones and the Panthers did just that.

2. Ball pressure: Arness Lawson picked his man up full court most of the game and not only cause many turnovers but made it hard for the Grove City guards to get the offense going or feed the post and he wasn’t the only one. It felt like whoever was guarding the ball for the Panthers did a great job eliminating spaces and forcing the ball handler into uncomfortable situations.

 3. Quick start: The first quarter didn’t win the game for Pickerington North, but it set the tone and gave them momentum early. Going on a 9-2 run early in the first quarter showing the attacking mindset and aggressiveness that they were going to bring the whole game.

4. Counter punches: There were many times in this game that it felt like Grove City would gain some momentum and cut into the lead, but every time Pickerington North seemed to have an answer. Late in the first half Kraig Gilbert finished in the paint to make it a three point game, and the next Panther possession Jeff Amapps went right at the Grove City forward finishing over him to go back up to scores. It was plays like this all night that kept the lead hovering around 5-10 points for Pickerington, always forcing the Greyhounds to play catch-up.

5. Freshman composure: JR Bates may have been the youngest player on the court for either team, but in big moments you wouldn’t know it. Bates was in control of the Panther offense in the fourth quarter when Lawson was on the bench with four fouls, and he played with composure by slowing down the offense and being patient with the ball. He also went 6-6 at the free throw line including 2 free throws with 45 seconds left to go up six and essentially put the game out of reach.

Top Scorer: Arness Lawson (16 points)
MVP: Arness Lawson
Hustle Player of the Game: Campton Williams