Games To Watch This Week In Central Ohio

Another big week of hoops specifically in Central Ohio, this includes a big event Saturday that will bring teams up from Northeastern Ohio and Southwestern Ohio. This week is a chance for some teams to bounce back which will be much needed, others want to keep it rolling. This week will tell us a whole lot. <h3 class="p1">Tuesday </h3> Grandview Heights @ Buckeye Valley Grandview is off to a hot start this season, with just one slip up loss to Liberty Union. The Bobcats already have a nice blowout win over Worthington Christian that looks nice now and could look even better later in the season. Heights is led by their point guard Brian Collier who has a big knack for scoring the basketball. Through five games the senior is already averaging 23 points a night, a step up from last season. Also, Luke Lachey will be a factor and could have an easier route with Troy Scowden out for the season for the Barons. Buckeye Valley is off to a nice start themselves with a nice mix of youth and leadership with their sophomore and senior classes. 4-0 on the season with wins over Delaware Hayes, London and Linden McKinley to mention, the Barons look like they could be a problem in Division ll, potentially. Losing their best player in Troy Scowden hurts, but it just means their senior big, Max Stokey is going to have to step up even more. Dylan Herbert is their best scorer and will be heavily relied on against Grandview, to counter the Collier attack. Other backcourt players like Dylan Thompson and Jevin Beard will be key factors as well. Matchups to watch: Luke Lachey & Max Stokey Jevin Beard & Brian Collier (Thompson could potentially guard Collier on defense) Pickerington North @ Pickerington Central Pickerington Central lost their first game of the season, but has taken care of business since. A blowout win over Akron Butchel at Nationwide Arena was eye opening to some people, as the Tigers have just reloaded. Junior Garner Wallace leads the way for Pick Central, but Conner Maciag, Tahleik Walker and Elhadji Thiam are big time players of importance for the team in purple. Pick Central has been good on the defensive end and offense as came easy. Pickerington North on the other hand is missing their best player Jack Sawyer severely and it’s shown. The opening schedule has been tough for the Panthers, having losses to Akron SVSM, Gahanna and most recently Hilliard Bradley. Offensively North has been balanced with Hunter Shedenhelm, Casey George and Chris Scott doing much of the scoring. Matchups to watch: Garner Wallace & Hunter Shedenhelm Casey George & Tahleik Walker (Maciag at times potentially) On Saturday the three of these games will be played at Capital University in an all day event, featuring five games. Walnut Ridge vs. Gahanna Walnut Ridge started the season with a tough loss to Toledo Rogers, but has since bounced back with three straight wins, including a conference win over Africentric. The Scots will have a couple City League games this week before their tough matchup with Gahanna. VonCameron Davis could have his way against Gahanna as he will be a matchup problem for the Lions. That will be something to watch. The Lions of Gahanna come in 5-0 with a few nice wins, however only being tested by Pickerington North, which was a big win for Gahanna. Sophomore Sean Jones is looking like the best hoops prospect in Central Ohio regardless of class, which is scary for the Lions opponents. The play of Sean Jones and Jarius Jones could be enough to lift Gahanna to another big win with the pace they’re playing at. Matchup to watch: Qian Magwood & Sean Jones Hilliard Bradley vs. St. Edward Hilliard Bradley may not pass the eye test when you look at their roster or anything like that, but it’s a different story when you watch them play. The Jaguars are off to a 5-0 start with a nice win against an Indiana team, Hilliard Bradley and Pickerington North. The strength of schedule is definitely tough early for Bradley, which is built for it. Good coaching, defense and a leader like Matt Allocco have Bradley bound to be one of the best teams in Central Ohio, if not the best. The Mayfield brothers are playing together now, and other guards like AJ Mirgon and Keaton Norris are difference makers. But, they may have not have seen a team as good as St. Edward and the talent they bring. Matchups to watch: Chris Mayfield & Chris Ringfield Matt Allocco & Grant Huffman Centerville vs. Pickerington North Pickerington North didn’t have an easy start to the season. The combination of losing Jack Sawyer for the season and a tough opening schedule which has them out to a 2-3 record. As said above you probably have read how tough their schedule has been. Against Centerville it’ll get no easier against senior Mo Niie and his brother Kebba Njie who Pick North could really struggle with inside. Matchups to watch: Mo Njie & Elijah Hawk Casey George possibly defending Gabe Cupps