Game 1: Washington CH 52- West Carrollton 46

The Cane’s Pioneer Holiday Classic was kicked off with Washington Court House taking on West Carrollton in one of the better games of the day. Washington senior Tanner Lemaster powered the Blue Lions to a 52-46 victory behind his 25 point 11 rebound performance.

Washington came out in a 2-3 zone that seemed to confuse West Carrollton early in the first quarter, but the Pirates seemed to find an answer to the zone by moving junior guard Javen Vaughn to the deep wing. Vaughn hit back to back 3’s from this same spot, leading his Pirates team into half with a 27-23 lead. 

Lemaster was one of the lone bright spots in the first half for the Blue Lions scoring 15 of his 25 points in the first half and kept his team within striking distance of the Pirates.

The second half was back and forth all the way until about the two minute mark where West Carrollton guard Jewish Bass came away with a steal and lay-in giving the Pirates their last lead of the game at 46-44. The next possession the Blue Lions had a sideline inbounds and hit Lemaster under the basket and he finished through contact and converted the and-1 free throw to give his team a 47-46 lead. 

After a defensive stop, Washington came down the court and missed a three, but junior forward Isaiah Haithcock was there for the offensive board. He found teammate John Wall at the top of the key for a wide open three. Wall was the go-to guy in the second half for the Blue Lions scoring all of his 13 points in the second half, none bigger than this three that extended their lead to 50-46 with lees than a minute in the game. Washington CH would add two late free throws to bring the final score to 52-46 and a victory for the Blue Lions.

Game 2: Westerville North 68 - Chillicothe 24

Westerville North came into Friday’s match-up against Chillicothe as the better team and they showed that by dominating from the tip to get the win over the Cavaliers 68-24.

The Warriors had some bus issues as they originally went to the wrong school, and showed up to Alder behind schedule and jumped right into warm-ups off the bus. They didn’t allow this to affect their play as they came out right away and pounced on Chillicothe early with full court pressure and getting out in transition after turnovers. 

Westerville North went into the half leading 43-14 led in scoring by sophomore guard Tai Perkins with 11 first half points and finished with a game high 14 points. Perkins was also everywhere on defense causing four steals in the first half and grabbed a pair of rebounds. 

Carter Reese showed off his range in the first half hitting three 3’s and consistently found open spots in the Cavalier’s zone defense to get his shot off. Reese finished the game with 12 points and 3 assists in three quarters of play.

The lead that the Warriors built in the first half allowed head coach Shan Trusley to go deep in his bench and get some valuable experience for some players that don’t always see time.

This group for the Westerville North didn’t skip a beat extending their lead to 60-20 at the end of the third quarter and coasted to a 68-24 victory.

Senior Rex Mbouge was one player that shined in his expanded role in the second half. Mbouge, who typically is one of the first forwards off the bench for the Warriors, saw his role expand and he made the most of his opportunity finishing with 10 points and four rebounds. He did a great job getting position down low for either a pass from a driving guard, or an offensive rebound off a missed shot and finishing under the basket. 

Westerville North will next host Dublin Coffman and look to carry their 5 game win streak into the new year.

Game 3: Hilliard Bradley 47 - Urbana 36

The third game of the Cane’s Pioneer Holiday Classic had Hilliard Bradley fight off a late surge from Urbana and come away with a 47-36 victory.

After a back and fourth first quarter, Hilliard Bradley came out in the second and started to show why they are one of the best half court defenses in Columbus going on a 19-4 run in the quarter.
The Hillclimbers had a tough time getting in the paint against the Jaguars pack-line defense, and were forced to settle for outside shots that weren’t falling for them.

Cade Norris’ shot was a little off early, but the junior forward showed off some of his elite passing skills. He finished with four assists on the night with half of those being in the second quarter.

Sophomore guard Garrett Sever scored from all over in the 2nd quarter getting to the rim and hitting a spot up three pointer. He picked up some of the scoring load, with Norris picking up his second foul midway through the quarter.

Bradley came out of halftime leading 28-13. They picked up where they left off in the second quarter, stretching their lead to 40-20 midway through the third behind their sharpshooting junior guard, Jeb Bischoff. Bischoff had three 3’s in the third quarter, and finished with a game high 17 points.

A 43-22 lead going into the final quarter seemed insurmountable for the Hillclimbers, but they wouldn’t go away scratching and clawing their way back, forcing Hilliard Bradley into some uncharacteristically bad turnovers. 

Urbana junior guard, Will Donahoe, seemed to be everywhere in the final quarter coming away with a couple steals, and found open teammates cutting to the basket leading to free throws. Donahoe finished the game with 11 points and four steals in the game.

The late game surge would not be enough for Urbana as Bradley cleaned up the turnovers and ran a 4-corner offense to run the clock and come away with a 47-36 win.

All eyes will be on Hilliard Bradley’s next game as they host one of the lone remaining undefeated teams in the area: Olentangy Orange.

Game 4: Jonathan Alder 66 - Bloom-Carroll 61

The best was saved for last in the Cane’s Pioneer Holiday Classic as the finale was a rematch of the a Division II district semifinal from last season. However, Jonathan Alder would flip the script this year and take down Bloom Carroll 66-61.

Jonathan Alder came out early with stellar guard play from sophomore backcourt duo Noah Hess and Ryan Mark. Hess took over the scoring roll early scoring 8 of his 16 total points in the first quarter, and connected on a pair of threes while Mark took over the distributing roll finding Hess on a cross-court pass for one of his threes. 

Mark, however, would one up his backcourt mate by hitting a half court shot as the first quarter buzzer sounded giving the Pioneers a 17-11 lead. 

Bloom-Carroll senior, Michael Whitcraft, seemed to get things going midway through the second quarter hitting a three, only to be stunted when he picked up his second foul, forcing him to sit the rest of the half. 

Jonathan Alder would take a 31-23 lead into halftime with a balanced attack from both teams.

Bloom-Carroll turned to their experienced backcourt duo in senior Michael Malone, and junior Jackson Wyant, who scored all of their team’s second half points and providing the spark that the Bulldogs needed starting the second half on a 11-1 run. They took a 34-32 lead with 4:30 remaining in the third quarter.

Jonathan Alder would go on a 9-3 run of their own by getting the ball into the paint and finishing around the rim.

Senior Pioneer forward, Will Jackson, capitalized the Bulldog’s lack of size with a monster second half performance. Jackson did a great job gathering the dump off passes from his teammates, gathering himself, and finishing around the rim all night to end with a career high 21 points.

The Pioneers continued to feed Jackson down low and stretched their lead to 57-45 with three minutes left in the game. 

Things got interesting when Malone hit and three, and Wyant converted an and-1 in consecutive possessions. It was too little too late as free throws down the stretch from Mess put the game on ice.

Jonathan Alder snapped their four game losing streak and look to build on this win next Friday when they travel to Tecumseh. 

Tanner Lemaster (2023) - Washington CH

Lemaster had one of the most dominant performances in the tournament finishing with 25 points and 11 rebounds, leading his team to a victory over West Carrollton. Lemaster, a Kentucky football signee, displayed his physical dominance on the interior by backing down defenders and finishing in close. Tanner wasn’t only a presence in the interior, he stepped out and went an efficient 3/5 from behind the arc. He has a smooth release and even his misses looked like they should have gone in. Lemaster wasn’t a typical football player on the hardwood, late in the game he shared the primary ball handler duties to break the West Carrollton full-court press. On the defensive end he was the anchor of the Blue Lion 2-3 zone and really discouraged anyone from driving in the lane after two huge blocks early in the second quarter.

John Wall (2024) - Washington CH

When I saw John Wall on the roster for the Blue Lions, I. Instantly thought of the former Kentucky star point guard. While these two players are the same position, their games didn’t align as much as the names. Wall did a great job of controlling the pace of the game as West Carrollton tried speed up the pace with a full court trapping press. Wall was more of a game manager, racking up a few assists in the first half with teammate Lemaster having the hot hand. The second half was a different story scoring all of his 13 points in a variety of ways. Wall was able to attack the basket and finished with both hands in the paint with Lemaster drawing a lot of the attention. Wall displayed with extreme confidence late in the game when he made a three off an offensive rebound that extended his teams lead to four with under a minute left in the game that practically put it away.

Chylan Ingram (2025) - West Carrollton

Ingram came into the game averaging 12 points and 11 rebounds on the season and I was eager to see how he would fair going against a more physical forward in Lemaster for Washington CH. The sophomore did a great job positioning himself to come down with rebounds on the offensive and defensive end and finished with nine rebounds for the game. Ingram was able to finish well around the rim when get got the ball despite giving up 25-30 pounds to the Blue Lion forwards finishing with eight points for his Pirates. I think Ingram can be a one of the more dominate forwards in the Miami Valley League the next couple years as he continues to fill out his 6’6” frame.

Tai Perkins (2025) - Westerville North

Perkins was a menace on the defensive end when he was in the game for the Warriors coming away with four steals in the first half. He moves fast in his defensive stand and has quick hands to pick the ball away from the ball handler. Perkins also displayed great instincts playing is their run-and-jump defense and would time his traps perfectly to get to the ball on the change of direction and take it from the opposing guard. After getting a steal, Perkins led the fast break doing a great job finishing at the rim or hitting the open man for an easy lay-in. In the half court he also hit a pair of spot-up 3’s and finished the game with a team high 14 points in only three quarters of play.

Jeb Bischoff (2024) - Hilliard Bradley

Bischoff is one of the best sharp shooters in the area and he showed why in their win against Urbana. He did a great job moving without the ball to create passing lanes for his teammates to find him for open 3’s. Once he got the pass, Bischoff was almost automatic hitting five 3’s in the game and a couple more that where halfway down that popped out. Bischoff has one of the quickest releases that I have seen that allows him to get his shot off before a defender can close out. Bischoff was automatic from the line with neither free throws touching the rim to end the game with 17 points.

Cade Norris (2024) - Hilliard Bradley

While Norris wasn’t the leading scorer for the Jags, the offense almost always seemed to go through him on either an isolation from the wing or a post feed to the high post/ short corner. Norris used his strength off the dribble to hold off his defender and get into the paint where he finished at an efficient rate. One of the more underrated aspects of his game was his ability to find the open teammate after Urbana began trapping him. Norris had some of the most crisp passes I have seen that got to its destination in a hurry and also seemed to be right in his teammates shooting pocket. Some of Bradleys best offense was to get Norris a post feed about 15 feet from the basket and allow him to make plays either finding open shooters or making a quick post move before the double team arrived. He finished the game with 11 points and 4 assists.

Noah Hess (2025) - Jonathan Alder

From start to finish Hess was one of the best players on the court fin the tournament finale. Hess did everything for the Pioneers finishing with 16 points, 4 rebounds and 5 assists and was the emotional leader for his team the whole game. The sophomore displayed great court vision snapping the ball cross-court to an open teammate for a couple early 3’s to gain an early lead over Bloom-Carroll. One of the harder passes to master is a pocket pass and multiple times Hess would drive in the paint and dump a pocket pass off the short corner for either an open shot or additional pass to the open man. Hess’s ability to get into the middle of the defense was a huge factor in the success for the Pioneers. Hess also display is smooth stroke knocking down a pair of 3’s in the first half and going 4/5 from the free throw line with the lone miss looking good 95% of the way, but ultimately not falling. 

Will Jackson (2023) - Jonathan Alder

Jackson was one of my favorite players on the day because it was an example of someone stepping up when your team needs you. With Alders leading scorer, Peyton Heiss, out with an injury, the Pioneers needed someone to fill that role and Will Jackson did just that in an impressive manner. Jackson came into the game with a previous career high of 7 points and blew that away finishing the night with 21 points in only 13 minutes off the bench. The senior did a great job finding open space in the short corner and making a quick move at the basket to finish over the rotating defenders all night. Jackson didn’t take any outside shots but looked to have a solid shooting form going 5/6 from the free throw line in the second half. The 6’4” forward put an exclamation mark on his career night leaking behind the press and getting a thunderous dunk late in the fourth quarter. 

Jackson Wyant (2024) - Bloom Carroll

Wyant finished with a game high 24 points for the Bulldogs, scoring from everywhere on the court. The sophomore seemed to always be able to get into the paint with his quickness and great change of direction. Wyant always seemed to have the ball on a string when dribbling through the heart of the Pioneer defense and would somehow find a way to get the ball through the hoop. His creativity on getting shots off was second to none utilizing spinning the ball off the backboard at odd angles or planting his foot and pulling up for a turn around floater after losing his defender. Wyant’s ability to get to the rim and finish forced his defender to closeout a little shorter, allowing him to knock down a pair of 3’s in the second half to lead the comeback effort for the Bulldogs.