Division 4 | Region 14 | District Finals Preview

This region already has a massive upset in it leaving people really questioning who is going to come out. We will have a better picture of this Sunday afternoon. The district finals for this division start Friday, February 28th at 7 pm as Napoleon tips off against Otsego at <a href="https://www.google.com/maps?q=5665,SEAMAN,RD,OREGON,43616-2613" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Clay HS</a>, and at the same time, Elida vs Shelby will be going on at <a href="https://www.google.com/maps?q=1200,BROAD,AVENUE,FINDLAY,45840-2653" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Findlay HS</a>. Saturday, March 1st at 7 pm Hawken plays NDCL at <a href="https://www.google.com/maps?q=34620,BAINBRIDGE,RD,N,RIDGEVILLE,44039-4073" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">North Ridgeville HS</a>. Then the last game is between Johnathan Alder vs Bloom Carroll at 2 pm on Sunday, March 2nd at <a href="https://www.google.com/maps?q=1,South,Grove,Street,Westerville,43081" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"></a><a href="https://www.google.com/maps?q=1,South,Grove,Street,Westerville,43081" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Otterbein University</a>.   Friday 7 pm – 1. Elida vs 3 Shelby   Elida is an impressive team that can speed you up and score at a high rate. This is due to the amount of athletic, quick, and skilled guards they have. Elida is 17-7 right now and coming off a tough-fought win against Lima Bath. Senior point guard [player_tooltip player_id='2395651' first='Zori' last='Island'] is the leader of the team. He is a really good distributing point guard that will quietly give you 10+ a game. Marcus Hill can explode for some point if you leave him open beyond the arc and do not stop him in transition. Amari Wash is a short and stocky guard who explodes to the rim and finishes strong. Then the big strong physical player Parker Crim is a monster in the paint.   Shelby is coming into this one after trailing most of their district semifinal game but closing the game on a run and sneaking out the win. Shelby is 16-8 right now and is a dangerous team because they play until the clock says 0:00. Karsen Homen is the big guy for this Shelby squad. He is skilled and a bit of a throwback player with his motor and physicality. Brayden Devito provided some good shooting from beyond the arc as well to give Homen space to operate.   Friday 7 pm – 6. Napoleon vs 1. Otsego   Napoleon has a 10-13 record but has some good players on their team. They have beaten Sandusky Perkins and Wauseon this postseason so far. The senior duo of Trey Rubinstein and Parker Woods have been the engines for this team. Rubinstein has earned 1st team all-conference honors and is averaging 12 points and 7 rebs. Woods helps out with a similar stat line of 11 pts.   Otsego is the top-seeded team of the northwest districts in this region and has a 22-2 record right now. This is one of the better seasons the Knights have in recent memory. Senior Kaiden Hutton is the reason for this as he is averaging 23 pts a game. He was named player of the year in the district and has a school season record in steals and points. He is having a great season and has been tough to contain. Then his running mate Devin Silva adds 16 pts a game and over 5 rebs a game. This scoring duo can win you games and have so far this season. The Knights are DANGEROUS.   Saturday 7 pm – 9. Hawken vs 8. NDCL   Hawken is coming into this one after an upset win over the 3rd seed Youngstown Ursuline. The Hawks come into this with a 17-7 record and big momentum. The Hawks are led by the junior scoring duo of [player_tooltip player_id='1705959' first='Daron' last='Hill'] and [player_tooltip player_id='2113257' first='Gregory' last='Price']. Hill is a more athletic player that gets to the rim and finishes well. Price is a shooter and can do it from a deep range and off the dribble well. A team that can get buckets in different ways is the way to win in the playoffs.   NDCL is coming into this with a 16-8 record and is now the highest-seeded northeast team in this region. Senior Ryan Lipowski is the leader of this squad. They do not have much size but these guards play fast and hard. If you do not come into a game with the Lions ready to play you will lose. They are battle-tested and ready to make a run.   Sunday 2 pm – 2. Johnathan Alder vs 7. Bloom Carroll   Johnathan Alder is a 20-win team and is led by senior [player_tooltip player_id='1888354' first='Noah' last='Hess']. Hess is a sniper for this Alder squad. He can shoot the ball very well and will score in bunches. But do not forget about the freshman guard [player_tooltip player_id='2530669' first='Danny' last='Bentley']. He does a really good job of finding the right angle to attack the rim and finish with a great touch. He finishes in traffic well. This duo has been great for Alder all season.   Bloom Carroll came into this game with a 13-11 record, but they are one of the hottest teams in the region. They have won 7 of their last 8. Senior guard Tryce Chaffin is a scorer at a high volume for the Bulldogs. He scored the first 16 points for BC in their game against Heath in the district semifinals. He is the head of the snake for this Bloom Carroll squad and slowing him down will be essential for victory. Then fellow senior Park Truex can score it consistently if you focus on Chaffin too much. A team with senior scoring guards is tough to beat.

This region already has a massive upset in it leaving people really questioning who is going to come out. We will have a better picture of this Sunday afternoon. The district finals for this division start Friday, February 28th at 7 pm as Napoleon tips off against Otsego at Clay HS, and at the same time, Elida vs Shelby will be going on at Findlay HS. Saturday, March 1st at 7 pm Hawken plays NDCL at North Ridgeville HS. Then the last game is between Johnathan Alder vs Bloom Carroll at 2 pm on Sunday, March 2nd at Otterbein University.