Pickerington Central defense suffocates Newark in OCC-Buckeye opener

On Dec 3, 2022

NEWARK ― No Devin Royal, no problem for Pickerington Central.

The defending Division I state champions, without their 6-foot-6 power forward and Ohio State commit for an Ohio Capital Conference-Buckeye Division opener at Newark, were coming off a season-opening 78-51 loss to star-studded Spire Institute. Spire features national and international talent, but the Tigers served notice they still plan on being kings in Ohio.

With nine seniors and tremendous size and athleticism, Central overwhelmed the Wildcats with defense and also drilled eight 3-pointers Friday in a 51-31 win before a near packed house at Jimmy Allen Gymnasium.

“They played like a team that got blown out on Saturday,” coach Jeff Quackenbush said after the Tigers (1-1, 1-0) held Newark to frigid 22 percent shooting, including only 2-of-18 on 2-pointers, and eight total field goals. “They had a lot of fight in them, and we had trouble matching that intensity,” he said. “With their length, athleticism and physical play, and them shooting pretty good from 3, it was hard for us to have much success. We held them to 51, but we have to find a way to score.”

Even without Royal, Central still had the 6-7 duo of Gavin Headings and Braylin Wells on the inside to block or alter shots, and brought 6-6 R.J. Keuchler off the bench. Combining that with dominant guard play from 6-1 southpaw Markell Johnson and 6-2 sophomore Amare Spiva, proved to be too formidable of a task for Newark (2-1, 0-1), whose tallest starters were 6-3.

The Tigers, who kept burly Steele Meister out of the paint and limited him to just three points, blocked four first-half shots. Johnson scored 11 of his 17 points in the first half, hitting a trio of 3s including a pair in the opening quarter as Central led 13-5. Grant Burkholder tried to keep the Wildcats close with two second-quarter 3s as Newark trailed 18-12 midway through. But the Tigers pulled off a five-point play on a technical foul, Johnson making both free throws and Juwan Turner cashing in a 3 on the ensuing possession, and took a 27-16 halftime lead.

Three-pointers by Burkholder and sophomore Braylon Morris kept Newark within striking distance at 29-22 in the third quarter. But they were the Wildcats’ only field goals, and Spiva and Andrew Hedgepeth pushed the margin back out to 35-22 with 3s of their own. Spiva then took over in the fourth, scoring 10 of his 16 points down the stretch.

“We have to run better offense,” Quackenbush said. “You have to have good timing to shoot, and we had no timing. It seemed like we never could get settled down, so credit to them. We were never able to get easy baskets, whether it was in transition or in our offense.”

No other players reached double figures but eight scored for Central, which finished 18-of-39 from the floor for 46 percent, including 8-of-21 on 3-pointers for 38 percent. The Tigers canned all seven of their foul shots, held a 24-21 edge on the backboards and committed only 11 turnovers.

Burkholder scored 12 to lead Newark, but no other Wildcat was close to double figures. Morris, who made a pair of 3s, also had three steals, and Meister grabbed six rebounds but was able to attempt just five shots. Newark was only 8-of-36 from the floor for 22 percent, including 6-of-18 on 3s, and 9-of-11 at the stripe. The Wildcats had only 10 turnovers.