Central Ohio Fall League: Championship Day
What happened on the final Saturday of the Central Ohio Fall League?
COLUMBUS, Ohio - - Saturday morning brought with it the final 4 and finals of the Central Ohio Fall League, powered by Nova Village, which took place once again at Reynoldsburg High School’s Summit Campus. The day opened with the final four of the 5th and 6th grade division. The finals in this division was between the two best teams all Fall League long, as the one-loss Ohio State team and the unbeaten Iowa team once again did battle to see who would leave as the champions. The only loss the Iowa team had was to the Ohio State team that they would see in the final game. In the 7th and 8th grade division, the top seeded and NC State team continued its dominant ways, cruising to the finals while Duke continued its roll as well, getting to the finals after an impressive victory.
On the first court, the only unbeaten team remaining in the division shook off a slow start to run up a 9-2 lead before jumping out to a 21-4 advantage a little over 10 minutes into the action. Led by the guard-center duo of Anthony Durant and Carter Gerken, combining for 37 total points, the Iowa team rolled past the team Minnesota squad by a final score of 70-24. After a slow start, seeing the team finally break double-digits around 12 minutes after the opening tip, Minnesota found some offensive rhythm as some of their shots began to fall. But the offensively pressure the Iowa applied was a tough force to stop, especially once their three-point shots began to drop.
On the second court, the action started fast from behind the three-point line between Ohio State and Wisconsin, with 9 of the first 11 total points in the game coming from beyond the arc. The pace the OSU team played with got them out to an early 19-10 lead as the guard play dominated the action. But, the fight of the Wisconsin team was on display as they battled back and stayed in the game, keeping the game within single digits as time went on. They closed the game winning by a final score of 35-24.
The finals of the 5th and 6th grade division was a rematch from last week, as the two best teams in the Central Ohio Fall League squared off once again, this time for the chance to be crowned as the champions. Both teams traded leads and the game was tied a few times, neither team being able to create more than a three-point advantage. A three-point play from Carter Gerken with just over 16 minutes to play gave his team a 20-18 lead then Durant hit a tough layup to go up four before a three-pointer from Ohio State and another runner from him gave his squad a one-point lead at 23-22 in a wild flurry.
The game was tied at 40 with 1:20 left to play, only to be outdone by a triple from #63 to give his team a three-point edge as time ticked away in the finals. A jump ball with 14 seconds left gave way to #78 banking in a three-pointer of his own to tie the game at 43 with 3 seconds of the clock. After the inbounds, Ohio State got a shot off, but it fell short and put the game into a one minute overtime period.
The overtime session saw the Iowa team come out and get a quick score as well as two free throws build a four-point gap that Ohio State could not overcome, taking the championship by a final score of 47-43. As the only undefeated team in their division, this team lived the phrase “that’s why we play the game,” as they fought back from deficits numerous times over the weeks, and still came out without a loss on their record. The team fought through adversity during the game and claimed the Central Ohio Fall League Championship. Gerken led the way with 16 points in the finals, using his length and finishing ability around the rim to help his team win.
North Carolina came out and buried back-to-back triples to go up 6-0 early on the only undefeated team in the division, but NC State came back with consecutive scores to get the game to 6-4. After a 15-6 lead from North Carolina, NC State went on an 11-0 run to take the lead at 17-15 with just over six minutes gone off the clock. From there, the shooting and full court pressure from NC State overwhelmed the guards of North Carolina and they shot to a 27-18 lead after 10 minutes of gameplay. With 8:51 remaining in the game, the score was 52-35 and NC State was firmly in control of the contest and looking forward to a finals matchup with whoever won on the other court. The balanced scoring attack that saw four players score over 12 points in their 78-46 win.
On the other court, a matchup between the Duke and Clemson teams was close throughout as both team honed in on the defensive side of the court. It was the offense of the Duke team that began to find its way, taking a 21-10 advantage into a timeout on the court. The 33-21 final was led by point guard Charlie Burks who set his teammates up while playing superb on the defensive end of the court.
In the finals, NC State looked to finish off an unbeaten Central Ohio Fall League, but a battle tested Duke team stood in the way of their perfect fall. NC State jumped out to a 21-8 edge and continued their roll from the opening contest. Duke locked in on the defense end and began to use their strength on offense to cut the lead to down, eventually getting it to 35-29. But the offensive efficiency that NC State played with, not just today but every week, took shape with a 7-1 run to spread the gap back out to 42-31. But the Duke team did not go away, cutting the lead to two before Gabe Stumph made a layup to make it a four-point gap.
With under one minute on the clock, NC State held a seven-point lead, one which held as the final score as NC State took the championship after a 52-45 victory. The team was a complete team that played together throughout the entire time and it showed on the court as they steamrolled through most weeks, finishing without a blemish on their record, and capped it off with a Central Ohio Fall League Championship. The sharpshooting of both Gabe and AJ Stumph along with the inside play of Colin Sonk propelled this team over the duration of the Central Ohio Fall League, boosting the team to a championship.
Written By: 270 Hoops Staff Writer Mark Francis Jr.