Canton McKinley 56 @ Olentangy Liberty 57

<p>Canton McKinley got their rematch with Olentangy Liberty after the Patriots shot the lights out in Canton earlier in the year. This time the game was more defensive minded but Liberty once again came out on top after an [player_tooltip player_id="1041814" first="Andrew" last="Wade"] layup with under 20 seconds to play. Liberty got a big halftime lead as the Pups couldn’t make a shot in the first half. Down 30-14 at the half, McKinley turned up the full-court pressure and started getting a lot of easy layups and offensive rebounds. As McKinley used their athleticism and physicality to make a push on offense, defensively the Pups weren’t allowing many easy shots. The fourth quarter was a struggle as both teams shot a ton of free-throws but it was Liberty causing a couple turnovers with their pressure when they were down and some clutch buckets by Patriots seniors helped them escape with a victory. Here were the top performers from the game.</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="1041814" first="Andrew" last="Wade"], 6’5 PF Olentangy Liberty 2021: Wade is a force on the interior as he really understands how to score in the post. Wade plays really hard and his effort helps him steal a couple buckets each game that lower motor players don’t get. On the defensive end, Wade rebounds the ball and plays solid team defense. Wade has almost zero perimeter skill, so don’t expect him to be beating players off the dribble or make jumpers. Regardless, Wade should be a priority for every D III school in the state.</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="726589" first="Kobe" last="Johnson"], 6’4 SG Canton McKinley 2021: Johnson is regarded as one of the best prospects in the state and showed why on Wednesday afternoon. Johnson is a dominant athlete in transition and showed this off with a powerful transition dunk. Johnson did miss badly on both of his 3-point attempts and a couple bunnies, Johnson needs to get a bit more consistent in the half-court but he dominated the first meeting offensively.</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="918990" first="Tae" last="Perie"], 6’2 PG Canton McKinley 2021: Perie took a lot of shots in the first half, and like most of his teammates, wasn’t hitting very many. Perie must’ve had a fire lit under him at halftime because his defense in the second half was much better and he got a couple easy layups just by how often Perie finds himself around the basketball. Perie is an inconsistent shooter from the outside but he did make two 3-pointers in this game. For McKinley to reach their full season they need the Perie that showed up in the second half to be the guy they see the rest of the season.</p>