Greater Columbus high school basketball: 5 things we learned from Jan. 16-21
Entering the final third of January, high school basketball league races and teams’ to-do lists for the stretch run of the regular season are coming into focus.
Three undefeated teams remain in central Ohio, the Circleville and Newark Catholic girls and the Olentangy Orange boys, and the next few weeks will feature plenty of jockeying for position for both league championships and the upcoming district tournaments.
Here are five things we learned this past week:
1. New Albany boys thriving under Casey
Standing at 3-4 just before Christmas and coming off a 20-point loss to OCC-Ohio rival Gahanna, the Eagles found themselves at a crossroads.
Then they turned the corner, whether because they further understood what coach Tim Casey was selling, they found the right lineup, believed in their talent or all of the above. Not even Casey, who is in his first season at the school after a 22-year run at Upper Arlington, might be completely sure.
But New Albany (11-4, 3-2 OCC-Ohio) finds itself riding an eight-game winning streak into a Tuesday league game against Grove City, led by senior guard and McDonald’s All-American Game nominee Braylen Nash. Nash is averaging 15.8 points and shooting 87% at the foul line.
Casey earned his 500th career win Friday when the Eagles beat Westerville Central 54-46 in overtime.
“We were good; guys were working hard and the intensity level was there, but as soon as we hit a rough patch, we lost confidence,” Casey said. “You have your highs and lows and good teams can handle the lows, fight them off, get them turned if you believe in yourself and what you’re doing.”
2. Circleville girls extend unbeaten start
Three returning starters from last year’s Division II Southeast District semifinal team helped lay the foundation, and the addition of freshman center Addison Edgington has proven key in the Tigers’ 14-0 start.
Edgington’s 16.0 points and 7.4 rebounds per game complement a combined 27.1 points on average from guards Maddie Blakeman (12.9 points), Gabby McConnell (7.1 points, 7.2 rebounds, 5.7 assists) and Faith Yancey (7.1 points, 4.4 assists, 4.4 steals). McConnell and Yancey are seniors, and Blakeman is a sophomore.
“They knew my expectations from playing for me last season and make sure to hold their teammates and themselves accountable,” coach Brian Bigam said. “Our biggest strength would be our defense. We really take pride on the defensive end. The girls understand that if they sacrifice on that end of the floor, they will give themselves a chance to win.”
Circleville (9-0 MSL-Buckeye) is outscoring its opponents 47.5-29.5 on average.
Ranked fifth in last week’s state poll, the Tigers could have to face third-ranked Proctorville Fairland or No. 4 Thornville Sheridan to get out of the district.
3. Reynoldsburg girls rounding into form
A coaching change shortly before the season and a 4-3 start that included losses by 28 and 44 points presented adversity, but Raiders coach Marshae Dotson thinks her team (12-5, 4-2 OCC-Buckeye) has largely cleared the rough patch — as evidenced by six wins in its past eight games.
Dotson is a former Mifflin great who succeeded 21-year coach Jack Purtell days before the season opener.
“Everyone is buying in,” Dotson said. “We’re trying to fit pieces together. We’re very athletic, so we have to use that to our advantage.
“We have to be very disciplined. These past few games, we’re getting better. They’re buying in to how I want to play and how we should play based on our team dynamic.”
Three guards in senior Simone Holifield and juniors Sa’Mahn Johnson and Aubree Price anchor the starting lineup and fuel a defense that has allowed 43.2 points in wins and 67.8 in losses. Senior Daniya McDonald, junior Malaya Collins and sophomore Deyona Carter rotate in the other two starting spots.
4. Olentangy girls suffer first loss
Playing without sophomore point guard Whitney Stafford, Olentangy (15-1, 6-0 OCC-Cardinal) earned a key league win Friday but saw its quest for an unbeaten season end a day later.
The Braves, ranked first in last week's Division I state poll, lost 51-40 at Olentangy Liberty. Freshman Sydney Mobley led Olentangy with 22 points.
Stafford injured her right shoulder Jan. 15 during a 65-63 win over Chillicothe Unioto in the Classic in the Country at Berlin Hiland. Coach Jamie Edwards expects Stafford to miss two weeks.
Stafford was averaging a team-high 16.7 points through 14 games, just ahead of Mobley's 16.1.
“We had a hard time getting into a flow (against Liberty), but their perimeter shooting was the difference,” Edwards said. “Liberty simply shot the ball better than us from the perimeter. We ended the game with zero made 3-pointers.”
Less than 24 hours earlier, the Braves held off host and third-ranked Marysville 49-48. Mobley had 17 points and Mia Chirpas and Chayla Rankin added 10 apiece as Olentangy took a two-game lead in the league over Marysville and Olentangy Berlin with four to play.
5. Schedule continues to test Reynoldsburg boys
Raiders coach Andy Moore has challenged his team with a tough non-league schedule, hoping it pays off in the Division I postseason.
A day after beating OCC-Buckeye rival Pickerington Central 93-83 in overtime, the Raiders (9-5, 4-1) lost 74-59 to fourth-ranked Garfield Heights in the Jared Sullinger Play by Play Classic on Saturday at home.
“(Central) is a rivalry game and that took some stuff out of us, but that’s no excuse for (Saturday),” Moore said. “We still have to bounce back. If we were to reach our ultimate goal, which is to play in the (state tournament), to play in the state championship (game), you’re going to have to play back-to-back nights, so you have to have success in the short turnaround time.”
Reynoldsburg faces a key week of OCC-Buckeye games, with a visit to Groveport on Tuesday and a home game Friday against first-place Newark (14-1, 5-0).
Against Central, Reynoldsburg trailed for most of the fourth quarter before rallying to force overtime. Jordan Fisher led the Raiders with 34 points, followed by Jorden Bowens (18), Noah Smith (12) and Toby Nwokolo (11).
“We’ve been in a lot of tough situations with overtime games and double-overtime games,” Moore said. “I like the way we competed out on the floor (against Garfield Heights) ... and we’ve played some other really good teams. Our guys have battled.”
Four of Reynoldsburg's losses are to teams from outside of central Ohio. The Raiders lost to Cleveland St. Ignatius, the No. 1 team in Division I last week, 98-97 in double overtime on Dec. 17.
In other games in the Play by Play Classic, Africentric defeated Central 72-57, Liberty beat Pittsburgh Imani Christian 82-64, Orange improved to 14-0 by beating Walnut Ridge 66-48 and Westerville North beat Akron Buchtel 62-46.
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Central Ohio high school basketball: 5 things we learned Jan. 16-21
