Reynoldsburg 91, Trotwood-Madison 82 (Recap + Prospect Scouting Report)

Raiders survive a shootout, led by Xavier McKinney's 27 points

REYNOLDSBURG, OH - With a plethora of athletes that exude high-end talent and good size, Reynoldsburg usually has an opponent right where they want them in a fast-paced contest. On Saturday night, Trotwood-Madison traveled from the Dayton area and brought their track cleats with them and gave the Raiders a run for their money until the home team was able to pull away in the final two minutes with a 91-82 victory.

In a game that featured 18 lead changes and had the score tied at six different moments, the Rams took a lead two-point lead with 3:35 left in the fourth off a Daveon Arnold three pointer, but four consecutive free throws split by Reynoldsburg’s Jordan Fisher and Jorden Bowens followed and gave the Raiders the lead for good against a Rams team that threw their best punch.

“That was a high-level game, we smacked them in the mouth early and they responded. They are heck of a team.” Reynoldsburg head coach Andrew Moore said after the game. “They took a two point lead in the last few minutes and when you’ve pretty much led the whole way, you have a couple options. Suck it up, continue to compete and execute or quit at that point. Our guys responded to it.”

While there were frequent lead changes, the Raiders led for over the first four minutes of the final period. Yet the Rams consistently challenged, as they collected numerous offensive rebounds and forced Reynoldsburg into a series of turnovers.

“I thought they were the tougher team, they got more 50/50 balls, beat up on us on the offensive glass,” Moore said. “But I did not question our effort. We competed, we made free throws down the stretch, got a couple stops.”

Moore also received a tremendous effort from a handful of players, but most notably junior Xavier McKinney, who had a career-high 27 points along with eight assists and four steals. McKinney finished with two threes and was four-of-five from the foul line in what may have been his best game as a Raider.

After he did not play the previous night against Teays Valley, senior Toby Nwokolo came off the bench and made a massive difference with his 23 points, five rebounds and two blocks. Bowens added two blocks of his own, along with 17 points, five rebounds and three assists.

Senior wing Jordan Fisher, an Ohio University signee, finished with 13 points and five rebounds, but did not seem to settle into his preferred groove for most of the game and occasionally came out on the wrong end of toss-up plays. Yet Fisher showed poise and persistence as he went perfect on his four free throw attempts in the final three and a half minutes. Senior guard Damon Griffin added nine points and three assists.

While the Rams benefitted from the pesky and fast-paced nature of their guard play, most notably from the 5’8 junior Arnold who finished with 24 points that included four made triples, the Raiders had difficulties containing Trotwood’s 6’8 center, Jermiel Atkins, an offensive line signee for Kentucky. Even against Reynoldsburg’s above-average size, Atkins was a matchup nightmare and bullied his way towards 23 points, 15 of which came in the second half. Yet his kryptonite was the foul line, where he went one-of-eight, all in the final two periods.

“The thought was to front him, but then they threw it over top and behind him and he scored. We tried to play behind him, they threw it in front and he scored. He’s really good,” Moore said. “We obviously couldn’t guard him, he was too big and too physical.”

Even despite having to sweat out a difficult win for most of the game’s 32 minutes, the Raiders (4-0) win allows them to stay undefeated and gives the experience of an early test against a well-reputable team that matched the Raiders’ style of play.

“I think come tournament time, [the experience of this game] will really help,” Moore said. “If we're going to get where we want to go in the end, we have to beat teams like that and their style.”

Reynoldsburg will be back in action on Tuesday as they host new conference foe Logan, a team that has struggled in conference play so far and has lost by an average margin of 36.5 points in their first two OCC-Buckeye games.

The Raiders are a highly entertaining team to watch and below in our Prospect Scouting Report, we spotlight the impressive play from their top three scorers.