Game Recap: St. Vincent-St. Mary vs Pickerington Central

<p>In a battle between two prominent programs in Ohio Saturday night, the Fighting Irish came away with a promising 68-53 win, proving once again they can compete with any team at any level. Ohio State commit [player_tooltip player_id="593905" first="Malaki" last="Branham"] shined bright during the win, leading the team in scoring as his team maintained a double-digit lead for most of the second half. </p> <p>There was a slew of other Irish players making an impact off the bench and with that, their lead stood at 32-19 at halftime. It only grew from there, ultimately getting to more than 20 points throughout the third quarter as the Tigers struggled to get things going offensively all night, especially shooting the deep ball. [player_tooltip player_id="867951" first="Devin" last="Royal"]’s 24 points weren’t enough for a Pickerington Central comeback. Here are some of the game’s top performers. </p> <p><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Top Performers</span></p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="593905" first="Malaki" last="Branham"] | 6-5 Sr | SVSM</strong></p> <p>There is a reason why Branham is the top-ranked player in his class and he proved that against Pickerington Central. One of the most efficient games I’ve seen from a player this season, Branham just couldn’t miss a mid-range jump shot. He scored 11 of the team’s 32 first-half points and there was nothing the Tigers could’ve done to stop him from making an impact. His length and quickness were just too much to keep up with and pairing that with the way he can score in the open court makes him one of the toughest players to contain on any given night. There aren’t many players in the state of Ohio that make an impact like the Ohio State commit does even without the ball in his hands. </p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="867951" first="Devin" last="Royal"] | 6-5 Soph | Pickerington Central</strong></p> <p>There weren’t many bright spots for a short-handed Pickerington Central team Saturday night besides the stellar play from rising sophomore [player_tooltip player_id="867951" first="Devin" last="Royal"]. His footwork for a sophomore was impressive to see as he often found himself beating his defenders near the rim for an easy layup all throughout the night. Even when he was able to grab defensive rebounds, Royal wasn’t afraid to lead the ball up the court himself, displaying a nice handle for a player his size. The sophomore had 10 points at halftime, ultimately finishing with a game-high 24 points. All night long he sealed off defenders well inside the paint and pretty much dominated near the rim. His stock will continue to rise if he can maintain this level of play. </p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="787627" first="Sencire" last="Harris"] | 6-4 Jr | SVSM</strong></p> <p>Harris scored just two points in the first half but he didn’t need to fill the stat sheet up in order for his presence to be felt. He did most of his damage in the first half without the ball in his hands, using his quickness and court vision to get guys like Branham and [player_tooltip player_id="809600" first="Ramar" last="Pryor"] easy looks consistently. Harris displays a nice handle with the ball and is uber-athletic in the transition game. He came alive in the second half, sinking two 3-pointers en route to scoring 12 points in the closing two quarters. The inconsistency with his jump shot <span style="font-size: 1rem;">has been a big question mark to start the year, but he's still been an imperative part of the offense alongside Branham. If he can develop his jump shot and become more consistent in scoring the ball, there might not be a better one-two punch in the area better than Harris and Branham. </span></p>