Westland 45 Vs Groveport-Madison 44 Standouts

The OHSAA playoffs are in full swing and last night was the first time all postseason I got the opportunity to attend a playoff game in March. In this article I'll break down the standouts from Columbus Westland's thrilling 45-44 win over Groveport-Madison in a district semifinal.    My first time ever watching Heller was last night and I left a big fan of his game. A very active point guard, Heller was flying around the court with high pressure on-ball defense, getting to the paint at will to find a big or kickout to a shooter and getting some hustle offensive rebounds despite being one of the smallest players on the court. Heller's quickness is his best skill as it allows him to stay in front of opposing ball handlers and get into the lane off the dribble without needing a ball screen. When Westland fell down one point with 20 seconds left, Heller got to the paint and hit a runner to put Westland up for good with 12 seconds left to advance to the district final.     The most impressive scorer on Tuesday night, Pollard battled foul trouble all night and fouled out with four minutes to play with his team up five points. Usually I'd be critical of a player fouling out in such quick time on the court but Pollard had one extremely questionable foul called on him and two other plays where he was simply going hard after a loose ball, really only two fouls were defensive lapses. When he was on the court, Pollard was getting stuff done as a scorer with a time and space 3-pointer and a corner 3-pointer just before the third quarter buzzer. Pollard's best move of the game came on the baseline when he stopped and used a step-back jumper to shake the defender and easily score. Good to see Pollard fitting in with my first regular season viewing of him at Westland after he spent the first two years of his varsity career at Harvest Prep.     The force on the interior for Westland, Sherif had some huge blocks that ended possessions and allowed his team to start the fast break and establish dominance in the paint. An undersized forward who has a bigger frame, Sherif doesn't back down from anybody in the paint and uses patient footwork to score around the rim. It takes big performances from seniors to move on in tight playoff settings and Sherif was huge on Tuesday night in the win.     One of the more impressive overall athletes on the court, Deedat is also ranked on the Prep Redzone site for his talents on the gridiron in Ohio's 2028 class. On the hardwood, Deedat is a high energy wing who has a strong frame, can block shots, cuts off the ball and overall provides good energy and athleticism to his team. Likely a football first prospect, Deedat is the type of player that can take you to the next level as a high school basketball program as you need athletes of his caliber to play multiple sports and contribute on the hardwood.     An incredible varsity career for Ruffin comes to a close as he left it all on the court on Tuesday night. After a relatively quiet first half as a scorer where Ruffin mostly made drop-off passes to bigs, he came alive in the second half and helped Groveport-Madison erase a double-digit deficit to take the lead. In the fourth quarter Ruffin hit a 3-pointer to tie the game at 41 apiece and also had the go-ahead steal and layup to take a 44-43 lead with 25 seconds left before Westland took it back. One of the best guards in central Ohio's 2026 class, Ruffin left his mark on the Groveport-Madison program.     Hemphill has provided a big boost for Groveport-Madison after transferring in and his physicality in the paint was needed in an intense battle like this game was. Hemphill started the game hot with a time and space 3-pointer and then had an easy assist off a steal to help get Groveport-Madison rolling early. Hemphill would then make some big plays in the fourth quarter as his breakaway layup off a steal was a key turning point in momentum during the game. Impressive multi-sport athlete who unfortunately sees his high school basketball career come to an end.

The OHSAA playoffs are in full swing and last night was the first time all postseason I got the opportunity to attend a playoff game in March. In this article I'll break down the standouts from Columbus Westland's thrilling 45-44 win over Groveport-Madison in a district semifinal.