Flyin' to the Hoop Recap

Friday 1/12/24
Combine Academy 80, Canyon Academy 70
The Goats from Combine came to Kettering and knocked off the Scorpions from Canyon. 4 players were in double figures for Combine with Kansas commit- Rakease Passmore leading with 22 points. Canyon’s Jovan Milicevic, a New Mexico commit, led the Scorpions with 22 points as well on 5-of-9 perimeter shooting.
 
Faith Family 74, Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary 54
Dru Joyce’s squad returned to Trent Arena and fought the Eagles from Faith Family to end the night Friday. The Irish received 13 points apiece from Jayson Walker and Rayshawn Hamilton in the loss. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi commit Isaiah Williams paced the Eagles with 20 points.
 
Saturday 1/13/24
Dunbar 68, Walnut Ridge 61
Dunbar kicked off Saturdays action against the Scots from Columbus and used a defensive 2nd quarter to take out Ridge 68-61. Eric Brewer Jr exploded for the Wolverines with 33 points on 11-of-19 shooting from the field. Duquesne commit Dominique Aekins paced the Scots with 28 points.
 
Wayne Trace 56, Miami East 43
The Raiders jumped out quick and didn’t look back as they defeated Miami East in a Division III showdown. Wayne Trace got 29 points from Brooks Laukhaf, an Ohio Dominican commit. Miami East got 11 points apiece from Wittenberg commit Jacob Roeth and Conner Apple.
 
Western Reserve Academy 71, Canyon Academy 58
WRA made the trip down from Hudson, OH and used a tight defense to put away the Scorpions and hand them their second loss of the event. Marquette commits Royce Parham and Damarius Owens combined for 46 points for WRA. Canyon was led by Jalik Dinkley-Distant with 22 points.
 
Lutheran East 55, Isidore Newman 36
Lue East, the defending Division III state champions in Ohio, came out quick and knocked off visiting Isidore Newman from Louisiana. Ronald Taylor led Lue East with 21 points on 7-of-9 shooting from 3PT range. Newman, who has famous alumni including the Manning family and OBJ, was led by Todd Jones Jr with 12 points.
 
Garfield Heights 68, Faith Family 67 (OT)
Garfield Heights, arguably Ohio’s top Division I program, needed OT to defeat the Eagles from Faith Family in one of the most exciting games of the day. Marcus Johnson went off for 40 points for Garfield and was scoring in any way he could. Colorado commit Doryan Onwuchekwa scored 29 points after having a quiet game against Akron SVSM the night before.
 
Westminster Academy 72, Archbishop Alter 71
Westminster held off a furious comeback from the Knights as Alter nearly overcame an 18-point deficit in the Saturday finale. Alter made 16 3’s in the comeback attempt and was led by Gavin Leen with 23 points.
 
Sunday 1/14/24
Newport 55, Middletown 42
Newport, who was without 2026 standout Taylen Kinney, took out the Middies from Middletown to start play on Sunday morning. James Turner paced Newport with 14 points. Middletown struggled from the field but was led by Jeremiah Landers with 17 points in the loss.
 
Beavercreek 86, Woodward 76
Beavercreek won a “defense optional” game with Woodward, one of Ohio’s top Division II teams. The Beavers got 70 of their 86 points from the trio of Isaiah Williams, Liam Gluck, and Kaden Ellerbe.
 
Lutheran West 42, Wayne 41
Wayne nearly handed Lutheran West their first loss of the season as Juan Cranford Jr missed a shot at the buzzer to win. Myles Perkins scored 21 points for the Warriors in the loss. Jayson Levis led the Longhorns with 13 points in this defensive battle.
 
Pickerington Central 49, Lima Senior 46
Pick Central survived a 2nd half comeback attempt by the Spartans to pick up a big win between two of Ohio’s better Division I programs year in and year out. Pick Central was paced by standout guard Juwan Turner who scored 11 points in the win. The Spartans, who were without Jekel Cotton, was paced by freshman standout Shawn Foster who contributed 14 points.
 
Oak Ridge 74, St. Ignatius 68
Oak Ridge stormed back to defeat one of Ohio’s best Division I programs Sunday afternoon. Jamier Jones and Tyler Johnson combined for 50 points in the victory. St. Ignatius had 4 guys in double figures, led by Quinn Woidke with 17 points.
 
Centerville 64, Isidore Newman 59 (OT)
The Elks of Centerville handed Newman their second loss of the weekend in overtime in the Sunday night finale. Xavier commit Jonathan Powell exploded for 24 points for the Elks. Chris Cenac Jr finished with a double-double for Newman with 18 points and 11 rebounds.
 
Monday 1/15/24
Lloyd Memorial 66, Preble Shawnee 48
The Juggernauts used strong 2nd and 4th quarters to hand Preble Shawnee their first loss of the season to start action on Monday. EJ Walker scored 21 points on 8-of-12 shooting from the floor. IPFW commit Mason Shrout also went for 22 points for the Arrows.
 
St. Xavier 58, Pickerington North 55 (OT)
St. X needed extra time to defeat Pick North Sunday afternoon. Donovan Waleskowski went off for 15 points in the Bombers win. Arness Lawson scored 27 points for Pick North and nearly led a comeback win for the Panthers.
 
Richmond Heights 73, Westminster Academy 65
Richmond Heights, the two-time defending Division IV state champions, took out Westminster in their 2nd game of the weekend. TJ Crumble scored 22 points on 9-of-15 shooting from the floor. Alex Lloyd scored 21 points for Westminster in the loss.
 
Oak Ridge 75, Reynoldsburg 71
Oak Ridge needed overtime to defeat Reynoldsburg in their 2nd game of the weekend. Jamier James again had an incredible game scoring 29 points in a variety of ways. 4 Reynoldsburg players were in double figures led by Jordan Fisher with 18 points.
 
Sycamore 56, Kettering Fairmont 46
Sycamore knocked off the host Firebirds in the Monday finale of Flyin to the Hoop. Tariq Kimbrough shot the ball well and scored 19 points for the Aves. Evan Gentile and Brock Baker combined for 37 points for the Firebirds in a losing effort.