Pickerington Central 59 Vs Gahanna 42 Prospect Report

<p>The game of the year in Columbus was a highly anticipated rematch between Gahanna and Pickerington Central. The Tigers won the regular season meeting on the road but the Lions were rolling with blowout victories in each of their previous playoff games. The game started slow with Pickerington Central holding a 18-16 lead at halftime. The third quarter was a quarter of runs as Pickerington Central jumped out to a 26-16 lead but a [player_tooltip player_id="616810" first="Sean" last="Jones"] and-1 layup cut the lead to 26-24 late in the third quarter. After that point, it was all Tigers. Between clutch outside shots from Markell Johnson, key blocks by [player_tooltip player_id="867953" first="Sonny" last="Styles"] or key buckets by [player_tooltip player_id="867951" first="Devin" last="Royal"], there was no point in the fourth quarter where it seemed like Gahanna was going to have a chance to win the game at the end.</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="867951" first="Devin" last="Royal"], 6’6 PF Pickerington Central 2023: Royal put together a complete performance with a lot more confidence in his jumper and aggression than what I saw in the district final. This was what I saw out of Royal in EYBL play last summer with his mid-range game really impacting the game. Royal even hit a step-back 3-pointer that looked like a college late in the shot clock type move. Royal also started the game with a bang as he got a dunk in traffic for the first points of the game for the Tigers.</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="867953" first="Sonny" last="Styles"], 6’4 PF Pickerington Central 2022: Styles reclassified to 2022 so he could join Ohio State’s football program a year early but not before he wants to bring a state title back to Pickerington. Styles had a monster game with some insane blocks, including one on [player_tooltip player_id="616810" first="Sean" last="Jones"] where I don’t even know where he came from to swat it away. Styles also had a decent game offensively with a couple dunks and finishes in traffic. Styles is one of the best multi sport athletes Ohio has seen in the past decade.</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="616810" first="Sean" last="Jones"], 5’10 PG Gahanna 2022: Jones will go down a legend in central Ohio who twice was denied a trip to state at the last possible game. Jones didn’t have his best night offensively, leaving a lot of jumpers short, but still found ways to be effective with his quickness and give his team some life in the middle of the third quarter. Jones should have a chance to play right away for Shaka Smart as Marquette will love the defensive energy that he’s able to bring.</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="1195148" first="Cameron" last="Johnson"], 6’0 SG Gahanna 2022: Johnson was really the only guy who could consistently make jumpers for the Lions all game, including back-to-back 3’s in the fourth to give the Lions a prayer. Johnson is a senior who seemed to step up with key outside shots in big games for Gahanna and tonight was no different.</p>