City League Championship on the line; Wayne - Springfield rematch

Here's the key games this weekend as we hit the late stretch of the Hoop Season:

(1) City League Championship in balance as Dunbar travels to Thurgood.

   In the last 15 years, the City League hoop Championship has been decided by 2 teams - 

Dunbar and Thurgood. 

     And to no surprise to many, Thurgood Marshall and Dunbar will battle tonight for the City League crown.

 LISTEN TO DUNBAR -THURGOOD GAME TONIGHT ON LINK BELOW: 
                   radio1.gemcitysports.com

  While The last time these teams played, Thurgood hit a huge 3 at the buzzer to defeat the Wolverines - in Heroic fashion no less. 

    Darnell Hoskins Jr. was terrific, and hit 2 huge buzzer beaters (one to end each half) that catapulted the Cougars into the early lead, then gave them the final win, shocking the Wolverines.

    Now tonight both teams know exactly what is at stake, as it seems every year for the last 15 years that these two teams are playing for it all. 

   Dunbar is 7-1 in the City League Standings & if they win, will win the City League outright; If Thurgood (6-1) wins, they will control their own destiny, as they have one game left, and could win it outright as well. 

   

   The one factor that will be different in this game than before is the presence of Evan Claiborne.  

   Claiborne, the former Wolverine now Cougar, was the talk of the summer for the transfer he made from the State Semifinalist. 

   

   The 6'10 defensive stopper with range has played well since being inserted in the Cougars lineup, and watch for the emotions to fly in this game, which will be on a Championship level to say the least. 

      Dunbar has seemingly found its rhythm, and while it hasn't been a dominant year, the Wolverines have had a good one nonetheless, and it could be sweeter with a revenge win in the Cougardome to grab another City League title. 

 Who wins the epic matchup? 

Let's compare the two sides & matchups a little further: 

GUARD PLAY:  ADVANTAGE  -  Cougars 

    While Dunbar's Stormi Cook has had a breakout year, and Chris Jackson started fast, the Cougars get the nod as Hoskins Jr. has been so good, that he is the front runner for Player of the Year in the City League. 

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FORWARDS: Advantage -  Wolverines 

     While Thurgood has players to matchup with Wolverines, they have nobody on the level of Senior Wing Terrance Landers Jr, who, with a big game tonight,  could also make a serious claim for the City League Player of the Year. 

CENTERS: Advantage - Cougars

   While the Wolverines now play small ball, the Cougars now have the big presence in the paint in Claiborne,  and this is a huge advantage that the Wolverines had the luxury of for the past two years. 

  If the big men show up for Dunbar, it could propel them to a win. If not, could be a HUGE night for Claiborne. 

COACHING :  ADVANTAGE   - Even

 With some of the best coaching minds on the sidelines for each team, its safe to say that neither side will have a real advantage come tonight. 

   Coach Pete Pullen of Dunbar has been in this situation so many times, that him and his staff are used to it. Thurgood Coach Darnell Hoskins has also thrived in tough situations, and will be ready to lock wits with the Wolverines.

 when the season started, most people thought that this would be the matchup for the City League title. And right on cue, it hasn't let us down. 

Be prepared for one of the games of the year tonight in

 Its goin' down in the Cougar dome. (Around 730 -8pm)

& it will be a sellout, so get there early.

NOTE: In case you can't make it, you can LISTEN TO THE GAME WITH THE LINK Below 
(Courtesy of Gem City Radio):

        radio1.gemcitysports.com






(2) "The Field" takes on Wayne Train tonight 

 With so many victories on this incredible run, the Warriors have hurt everybody's feelings who have been in the way.

  And in a way, they could thank the Wildcats for that.
 Springfield tapped Wayne a couple seasons ago, and since that tapping, the Warriors haven't looked back in the last two years.
  While everyone knows about the wildness that took place between the Warriors and Wildcats last year, the Wildcats did play the Warriors almost to a even tilt, and even gave the Wayne Train all they could handle in the OHSAA Regionals.

    But when the smoke settled, the Wayne Train is still on the tracks..and running over opponents in the process as they look to get into USA Top 10 (Ranked 11th) in the country.
   Which brings us to the match up tonight.

Wayne has been winning all type of ways.

    Springfield has lost a series of heartbreaking games, but still has had a solid season to date.

 Does the Wildcats have enough to pull off the upset that could change their season?

Let's look at the matchups:

GUARD PLAY: ADVANTAGE - Even

    Despite having Rodrick Caldwell, a BGSU signee, the Wildcats have Danny Davis, a super talented, athletic Guard who has D-1 coaches hoping for his services. Whole Wayne has more than Caldwell, the Wildcats do too.

FORWARDS: Advantage  - Wayne

While Springfield has size at the 3 and 4, the Wayne Train duo of Chazz George and Trey Landers is, quite possibly, the best in the state. Landers has been nothing short of dominant, and that was no more evident in the destroyal inside against Trotwood. The Warriors had their way the first time..Will it change this time?

CENTERS: Advantage - Wayne 

 While Springfield has a monster on the block, who, once started up, can't be stopped, the Warriors have a future All-american in L'Christian Smith.
 Smith has been phenomenal, especially in the last up games, and has helped taken the Warriors to the next level. And yes, he's only a sophomore.
  While Wayne has a slight advantage,  it could be taken away if the Field can get the big man working early.


COACHING : ADVANTAGE - Even

    While there is no doubt that Wayne Coach Travis Trice Sr, is the man, the top HS Hoop coach right now in Southwest Ohio, the Wildcats have a great mind as well in Coach Isiah Carson.

 While Carson hasn't been able to win the big one, he still has done a good job of having the team ready to play. And make no mistake,  they will be ready to play tonight.
  Can he push the right buttons to pull off the upset?

No matter what the records are, this game will be as intense as a Regular season game can be.
GWOC style.

 


 

Wayne captures first ever State Championship; Dunbar falls in final seconds; C-J loses in semis

With three teams up in Columbus battling for High School State Hoop supremacy, here's the results of all three teams and how they fared.

Wayne Train seizes first ever state title, defeats Westerville South

When speaking with Wayne coach Travis Trice before the trip, he seemed at peace with what his team had accomplished.

But he knew he had the team to win it all.

And they did just that with a 65-57 win over Westerville South as they sprinted out early, controlled the game and hit timely free throws late to grab the biggest win in the school history in front of over 10,600 people.

D'Mitrik Trice led the Warriors with 19 as four Warriors hit double figures. Xeryius Williams, Trey Landers, and Robert Caldwell all balled out as Wayne came out much different than in the classic Semifinal game vs Lakewood St Edward.
In the semifinals Wayne was tested to the max.

Lakewood came out firing, grabbed a early lead, and set the tone. Wayne responded in second half, pushed it to OT, then dominated Overtime to get to the final.
Remember, St. Edward was the team who beat the Wayne Train to win the OHSAA D-1 football championship, so the extra motivation was there.
This time the Warriors would get the job done.

Coach Trice felt like the players believed in each other, was prepared mentally, physically, and spiritually & the "play for the one to the left and right of you" mentality is what helped the Warriors win its first ever State Championship.

And with what the Warriors have coming back?

Could be a couple more "Wayne Train" stops in the Schottenstein Center in the near future.

All Aboard the Wayne Championship Train.
Salute the champs.



Dunbar loses in final seconds to Defiance in Semis

The Wolverines had a golden opportunity to get to the State Championship, but couldn't take advantage of a lead and a couple of missed chances cost Dunbar as they lost 46-45.

Defiance came out stong early and established the tone, but Dunbar quickly reversed those fortunes and grabbed the lead late in the first quarter.
The Wolverines were ahead for most part of the second quarter and although the game was tight, Dunbar seemed to have a slight edge, as Ohio State bound Amos "A.J." Harris led the team at half with 10 points & Terrance Landers had 6.

In the 2nd half Dunbar grabbed a lead and held it for most of the half until the final moments. Dunbar was ahead 44-39 midway through the 4th quarter and it looked as if they would pull away.
But Defiance kept battling, and eventually tied it up in the last minute. Terrance Landers was fouled and made 1 of the 2 free throws, which left the door open for Defiance.
Defiance then was fouled after missing two shots and grabbing two offensive rebounds.
They hit both free throws to take the final lead. Dunbar came down and tried to get a shot up, but was unable to get one off as Defiance stole the ball underneath and was fouled with 3 seconds.

They would miss the front end of 1 & 1 but Harris half court desperation heave was short, and Defiance was on to their first ever State Finals.
Dunbar was outscored 9-4 in the 4th quarter, which sealed their fate.
A.J. Harris led the Wolverines with 19, & was the only player in double figures.
Harris did say that "he loves playing in the Schottenstein Center" & that he feels that Dunbar "should get back to State" next year.

After the game, Head Coach Peter Pullen was very dissapointed with the outcome, but was proud of his team and knows they will be back.

Note: Defiance did go on to win State, in OT.


C-J falls in fourth, loses to Lima Central Catholic

C-J fell behind early and although they came back strong late, fell to Lima Central Catholic 55-50 in the D-3 OHSAA Semifinals.
Lima jumped out early, and the Eagles responded. Central Catholic held a lead at half which ballooned to 15 before a 15-2 run by the Eagles cut it to 3, 45-42.
The Eagles would get it to 2, but Catholic knocked down some key free throws to send the Eagles home.
Coach Staley felt like his boys played hard, but Jus didn't execute quite well enough against a top notch opponent.
This was the Eagles 7th trip to the State.