OHSAA D1 State Semifinals Standouts

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The OHSAA Division I state semifinals tipped off on Saturday evening at UD Arena in front of thousands of fans. The first game was a rematch of last year's state title game between Centerville and Pickerington Central while the nightcap was Archbishop Hoban Vs Toledo St John's, in this article we'll spotlight the standout performers from the action.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:acf/evaluation-block {"name":"acf/evaluation-block","data":{"player_evaluations_0_player":["867951"],"_player_evaluations_0_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_0_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_0_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"After being awarded Mr. Basketball prior to the game, Royal was on a mission to lead his team back to the state title game. Early on it was Royal being active on lobs, using his excellent hands to finish passes around the rim and give his team an energy boost. In both games against Centerville the past few years, Royal has stepped up with a few timely jumpers to keep his team ahead. Pickerington Central also ran some nice actions to get him open, including a dribble handoff that led to an and-1 finish to give the Tigers the lead back with just a few minutes to play. Royal was simply too big, too strong and too skilled for Centerville to handle in the paint and finished with 23 points on 9/14 shooting and 5/7 from the free throw line, a dominant performance by the top ranked senior in the state.","_player_evaluations_0_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_1_player":["1222377"],"_player_evaluations_1_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_1_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_1_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_1_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_1_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_1_evaluation":"Nobody hit bigger shots from the outside on Saturday evening than Turner, who was a perfect 4/4 from 3-point range. An ankle breaker crossover got him open for one in the first half and Turner again had ice in his veins when he nailed another clutch 3-pointer to break a 50-50 tie with about a minute to play. Turner's point guard skills came in handy but it was his shot-making from the outside that was crucial to a Tigers victory.","_player_evaluations_1_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_2_player":["1419901"],"_player_evaluations_2_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_2_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_2_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_2_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_2_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_2_evaluation":"Many will point to the layup that won the game as Johnson's biggest impact, but I thought the senior had a great overall performance in the win. Johnson was very active defensively all game, causing havoc for the Centerville offense. The pass of the night also came from Johnson when he drove baseline and anticipated the help-side defense rotating, finding an open Turner for his third 3-pointer of the game. Hitting the game winner will always get you noticed, but it was the extra stuff that Johnson did that even allowed Pickerington Central that opportunity for a special moment at the end.","_player_evaluations_2_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_3_player":["867934"],"_player_evaluations_3_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_3_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_3_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_3_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_3_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_3_evaluation":"Despite a losing effort, Cupps was absolutely sensational in his last career high school game, ending what has been a historic career. Cupps had a performance that any great point guard aspires to have, scoring 22 points on 7/9 shooting, 5/5 from the free throw line with 7 assists and just 1 turnover. There really isn't much more to say about Cupps than he left it all on the floor and did everything in his power to win the game.","_player_evaluations_3_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations_4_player":["1773220"],"_player_evaluations_4_player":"field_62ab9d62ecf2c","player_evaluations_4_override_profile_image":"","_player_evaluations_4_override_profile_image":"override-player-profile-image","player_evaluations_4_not_in_database":"","_player_evaluations_4_not_in_database":"field_62aba48cecf2d","player_evaluations_4_evaluation":"The size of the freshman was the difference as Hoban's overall size, strength and defensive ability was way too much for the underdog Titans on Saturday night. Greer and [player_tooltip player_id='1222351' first='Jonas' last='Nichols'] dominated the paint, both finishing with double doubles. Greer knocked down an early 3-pointer and had a tip in to give Hoban a comfortable lead that was never in doubt the entire night. Combine the physicality of Greer and Nichols with some flash plays by guard [player_tooltip player_id='1404816' first='Will' last='Scott'] and the Knights are rolling into tonight's state championship game. For all the marbles, you can't really ask for much more for a Sunday night finale, both teams are playing excellent basketball right now and peaking at the right time.","_player_evaluations_4_evaluation":"field_62aba51aecf34","player_evaluations":5,"_player_evaluations":"field_62aba7547dc44"},"mode":"edit","alignText":"left","anchor":"acf-block-641728a0464fe"} /-->