Defense has Central rolling into rematch with Bradley
Little did Pickerington Central and Hilliard Bradley know when they met in the Jared Sullinger Play-by-Play Classic in January that they would return to Ohio Dominican in March with much more at stake — namely, a spot in the state tournament.
Bradley won that meeting handily by 21 points, but it would be foolhardy to suggest a repeat performance at 4 p.m. Saturday.
Using its length, cohesiveness and defensive tenacity to full advantage, Pickerington Central routed Dublin Coffman 58-38 on Thursday night in a Division I regional semifinal. The Tigers (17-8) have won 10 straight since losing to Bradley.
“Did we expect we’d be in this position when we were 7-8? Not at all,” Pickerington Central senior forward Adrian Nelson said. “For sure, it wasn’t the kind of season we’re accustomed to having. A lot of people counted us out, but we stuck with it and here we are.”
Coming off impressive wins over Newark and second-seeded Upper Arlington at the district level, Coffman (20-7) took a 21-20 lead to halftime. Pickerington Central made the proper defensive adjustments and gradually pulled away.
“We played really well defensively,” Pickerington Central coach Eric Krueger said. “I’ve told the guys that the further along we get in the tournament, defense will push us against those good teams.
“We tried to faceguard (Dominiq) Penn and slow down their penetration. They like to spread teams and drive and kick it out to their shooters. I haven’t seen the stats, but I’m pretty sure we held Penn way below what he did Saturday.”
Five days after Penn scored 30 points against Upper Arlington, he was limited to six.
“We knew he was their main offensive threat and everything went through him,” said Nelson, a Detroit Mercy signee who hammered down two dunks in the third quarter push.
Javohn Garcia scored
“A lot of people counted us out, but we stuck with it and here we are.”
—Pickerington Central senior Adrian Nelson
15 points, Nelson 13 and Josiah Fulcher 10 for Pickerington Central, which reached the state tournament a year ago. But that team had point guard Jeremiah Francis, who has missed the entire season with a knee injury, and 6-foot-11 Sterling Manley, who now plays at North Carolina.
The Tigers held a substantial rebounding edge and got inside with regularity as the game wore on.
“I think we knew coming in it would be battle of them getting to the rim against us hitting shots,” Coffman coach Jamey Collins said, “and that’s certainly how it played out.
“At no point did we make shots or sustain anything offensively. They wouldn’t fall early, and I think we pressed a little. We never gave them enough reasons to change what they were doing. We were held 30 points below our average. You’ve got to give them the credit.”
Luke Bartemes had 12 points off the bench and Nick Carlson added 10 for the Shamrocks, who didn’t get their first rebound until four minutes in.