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5 Keys: Pickerington Central survives late in close matchup with New Albany

By Jake Spegal, 01/10/23, 10:45PM EST

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Amare Spiva and Devin Royal combine for 34 points to power the Tigers to victory

NEW ALBANY, Ohio -- In a surprisingly close game on Tuesday night, Pickerington Central turned things up in the fourth quarter to take down New Albany on the road, winning 59-46.

After a pair of dunks from Ohio State signee Devin Royal put Pickerington Central ahead 6-0 in the first, the Tigers extended that lead to 15-8 by the end of the frame and it felt like they'd only continue to build on it moving forward.

However, New Albany responded in a great way in the second quarter as they did not waver and took control of the lead midway through the frame.

Powered by a trio of three-pointers from Will Powell, the Eagles gained all of the momentum midway through the quarter, leading 26-25 with 2:17 to go in the half before trailing just 28-26 heading into the locker room.

Hitting a ton of big shots in the first half and holding Royal to just five points through the first 16 minutes of play, the Eagles had the game plan to pull off the major upset on Tuesday.

Even following two quick dunks from Royal to open up the third quarter, New Albany continued to respond, using a combined 11 points from Braylen Nash and Sam Dunn to remain close, trailing just 45-40 heading into the final quarter.

However, Pickerington Central showed why they are the defending state champions throughout the final eight minutes.

While the Tigers didn't do anything flashy in the final quarter, they made some clutch shots, took care of the ball, converted on their free throw attempts and got enough stops to put the game out of reach late.

Putting together yet another impressive performance off the bench, sophomore Amare Spiva led Pickerington Central with 18 points and some great hustle plays, while Royal contributed 16 of his own, 11 of which came in the second half.

The Tigers have a tough schedule ahead the rest of the week as they travel to Reynoldsburg Friday night before taking on Michigan State commit Xavier Booker and Indianapolis Cathedral on Monday at Trent Arena as part of Flyin’ to the Hoop.

For New Albany, Nash led the way with 16 points while Powell scored 10 of his own, all coming in the first half.

Following the loss, they now set their sights on an OCC-Ohio matchup on Friday night where they will take on Westerville Central.

Now, let's take a look at 5 Keys to the Game: 

5 Keys:

  1. Composure: Even while this game remained close throughout the third quarter, Pickerington Central never wavered or got sped up. As stated above, the Tigers made all of the right plays down the stretch and did not force anything as they limited turnovers, converted on free throws and made some big shots in the final quarter.
  2. Focus on Royal: New Albany threw a lot of defenders at Devin Royal tonight, and rightfully so, however, this allowed Pickerington Central's role players to have some really good looks from the field. Amare Spiva, Markell Johnson and Juwan Turner combined for 37 points as a result of this.
  3. Taking Care of the Rock: Overall, this was a really well played game on both ends tonight. Both New Albany and Pickerington Central did a really good job taking care of the ball and creating open shots, allowing this one to stay competitive throughout the entire contest. We were impressed with the Eagles ability to create offense against the Tigers, however Pickerington Central just created a slight bit more.
  4. Devin's Second Half: While Royal didn't have a crazy night scoring the ball tonight, the fact that he churned out 11 points in the second half was pivotal for Pickerington Central. When he scored four of the game's first six points, it seemed like this one would be Tigers all the way. However, New Albany holding him to five first half points was not only very impressive, but very crucial in keeping this one close, which is why we believe his ability to find ways to score in the second half was a major key for Pickerington Central.
  5. Spiva's Breakout Season Continues: Leading Pickerington Central with 18 points, sophomore Amare Spiva was crucial in helping the Tigers come out on top in this one. The sophomore guard has been extremely impressive this season, consistently being one of the Tiger's best players while coming off the bench. Not only can he score it on the offensive end, but he also makes a ton of hustle plays and is a high level defender on the other end of the floor.

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