Pickerington North 45 @ Westerville Central 49 Recap

<p>In an OCC divisional battle, Pickerington North took the trip north to Westerville to take on the Warhawks on Tuesday evening in a battle of unbeaten teams. The first half was plagued by a handful of offensive fouls as neither team could get going offensively with the amount of turnovers. A quick start to the third quarter by [player_tooltip player_id="805175" first="Casey" last="George"] gave the Panthers an advantage that wouldn’t last very long. In the fourth quarter, timely shots from [player_tooltip player_id="918967" first="Tasos" last="Cook"] and [player_tooltip player_id="805202" first="Quincy" last="Clark"] helped Westerville Central fend off a feisty effort from an undersized Pickerington North bunch. Here were the top performers from the game.</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="918967" first="Tasos" last="Cook"], 6’2 SG Westerville Central 2021: Cook is finally shooting the ball off the catch and this makes his progression as an off-ball player much easier to imagine in college. With his improved spot-up shooting, I have much less worries about Cook playing the two guard position at the next level. Cook had a couple charges taken on him in the first half (there were probably 10 offensive fouls in the first half) and was a little hesitant to get all the way to the hole the rest of the night. Cook’s shooting helped boost the Warhawks offense in the second half and a jam with 10 seconds left put a bow on a gritty win.</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="921757" first="Jerry" last="Saunders"], 6’0 SG Pickerington North 2022: Saunders is a natural born scorer and found ways to get buckets in this one. Saunders is a very productive driver of the basketball and seems to finish more often than he should in the paint. While he couldn’t hit a shot from the outside, a couple in and out 3-pointers isn’t going to change my evaluation of him as a shooter. Saunders seems to be progressing well in a primary scoring role after the Panthers lost a talented senior class.</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="805175" first="Casey" last="George"], 6’0 PG Pickerington North 2021: George won’t blow you away with speed or athleticism, but he just produces time and time again. A thick point guard, George worked to get the ball with his back to the basket routinely in this game. There are obvious limitations to George’s game, but more times than not I walk away from the gym thinking he’s a scholarship level kid.</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="1045466" first="Landon" last="Tillman"], 5’10 PG Westerville Central 2021: Tillman is a very tiny guard who doesn’t get to handle it much with Cook and Clark on his team, but his shooting was critical for the Warhawks offense. Tillman’s three first half 3-pointers were almost half their points in the first half and his defensive effort is always there.</p>