Bowens helped Reynoldsburg remain competitive for stretches in a battle with a top 5 team in the country, trailing by just 10 at halftime and 17 late in the third quarter. Bowens shot the ball with confidence knocking down a handful of 3-pointers and put a southeastern prep forward on a poster off an offensive rebound. Despite the loss, Bowens made some impressive plays against one of the top teams in the country.

Nobody came out the gates hotter than Bowens on Sunday night as he threw down a couple monster dunks to get the packed house on their feet. One of the more explosive bigs in the OHSAA, Bowens gets up on the rim in a hurry. In the second quarter Bowens also knocked down a pair of 3-pointers, a key swing skill for him at the next level. With a pair of OU commits, Reynoldsburg is once again one of the most talented teams in the OHSAA. 

Reynoldsburg is back again this season with their pair of Ohio commits leading the way as seniors. I liked how assertive Bowens was in both games I saw as he was aggressive getting to the paint and scoring over smaller defenders at the rim. If you don’t have somebody that’s a similar size to Bowens, he will feast on the glass and score consistently in the paint until you stop him. While seeing his motor run hot and production stand out, I want to see Bowens have that same type of production when similar sized players are defending him. That’s the next step he has to take before starting his college career in the MAC where every team will have similarly sized forwards.

Bowens had maybe the highlight of the day with his dunk where he drove and took two dribbles before exploding for a quick slam before any defender could contest his shot. Throughout the two games I saw, Bowens was aggressive in looking to dunk the basketball whether he had a clear path to the rim or not. The amount of explosive athletes Reynoldsburg continues to produce means they will be one of the toughest teams to stop in transition and sure to appear on a lot of highlight tapes this winter.

When Bowens is locked in, engaged in a game, and plays with energy he is a massive difference maker. Most teams do not have a Bowens, Reynoldsburg has a couple which creates the mismatch for a team, like today. He attacks the glass hard and uses his length and leaping ability to grab them over anyone. He is great at attacking the rim and finishing through and with contact. He puts a ton of pressure on the rim and this can be seen with his eight FT attempts. He was an efficient 5-6 and 15 points for the Raiders and this is because his 5 makes were at the rim. He played with great energy and intensity.

In what was the most exciting game of the weekend in Columbus filled with storylines, the second seeded Reynoldsburg Raiders erased a 15-point deficit and ended up escaping with a narrow victory over the upset minded Hilliard Bradley Jaguars. While the game featured many runs throughout on both sides, Bowens offensive rebound that led to an and-1 layup in the fourth quarter was pivotal turning point in the game. Bowens was crashing the glass hard and finished in the paint a couple of times off cuts, putbacks and lob plays.

The most productive high school game I’ve seen Bowens play, he was simply too big, too strong and playing too hard for Richmond Heights to stop him in the paint. A recent Ohio University commit, Bowens simply dominated the interior with post ups, dunks and second chance points. Not much flash on his game on Sunday, Bowens opted to keep it simple and was rewarded with a 32 point performance and MVP honors postgame.

Bowens is a hard-playing athletic forward who has the ability to make plays on either end. Bowens shows great versatility on the defensive end and is threat to guard multiple positions with ease. His tentacle like arms allow him to alter shots and gather steals with ease. He is an assertive finisher around the bucket and is great from the dunker spots. His ability to do the dirty work should be one of the reasons why college coaches should prioritize him.

Bowens brings some new parts to his game this year and it’s made him a very interesting and unique player. He seems to have gotten a little taller and longer which helps him out in many ways but tonight he brought the ball up more. He was handling the ball a lot and playing more of a guard than he has in the past. He did a good job of taking care of it and making the right decisions against pressure.