Pickerington North 68, Gahanna-Lincoln 36 - Prospect Scouting Report

Panthers quiet the roar with a dominant home win

PICKERINGTON, Ohio - - A 22-8 second quarter outburst from the Panthers was too much for the visiting Gahanna-Lincoln Lions (13-9, 5-4 OCC-Ohio) to overcome. Behind the junior duo of Favor McFadden and Arness Lawson, Pickerington North (13-8, 5-4 OCC-Capital) never let their big halftime lead slip and cruised to a 68-36 victory.

Both teams started out somewhat sluggish, with neither teams offense really catching a rhythm early. The Panthers started to get a flow as the quarter progressed, but it seemed like whenever they were ready to really hit the gas, Gahanna had an answer to make sure things didn’t get too out of control.

It was the balanced attack of the Panthers, with five players getting on the scoreboard, that helped Pickerington North hold an 18-11 advantage at the end of the first frame.

The second quarter is where the Panthers took total control of the game. Behind junior Favor McFadden’s 13-point quarter, the home team exploded for 22 points before halftime. Junior Arness Lawson added six points and four rebounds as well to give their team a 38-18 advantage as they went into the locker room.

Gahanna’s offense was stuck in neutral in the entire half, not being able to get going in the opening 16 minutes. Senior guard KJ Reynald led the team with 7 points in the first half.

After the halftime break, the Lions had their best quarter, they scored 16 points while holding the Panthers to 11. Gahanna sophomore point guard Darek Rivera-Whitfield buried a triple from close to half court at the buzzer to cut an 18-point lead to 15. Pickerington North had a slow quarter but was still ahead 49-34 going into the final quarter.

Senior Jaden Vital and Lawson shut the door in the final quarter, Vital pulled down six boards in the frame and Lawson poured in nine of his 20 total points.

Lawson had a put back in the fourth that gave him his 1,000th career point. That was the biggest story of the quarter as Pickerington North was on cruise control before they emptied out the bench and rolled to a 68-36 win.

Favor McFadden’s 22-points led all scorers, he also added six boards and three steal. Arness Lawson scored 20-points along with seven rebounds and five assists in the win.

Both teams head into the state tournament now with a chance to go as far as their leaders take them.

Take an in-depth look at the big nights from the two junior stars for the Pickerington North Panthers.