Toledo Central Catholic 63, Pickerington Central 51
Despite a valiant effort, Tigers come short against an impressive Irish team
Written by 270 Hoops staff writer Greg Glasser
COLUMBUS, OH - Day two of the 5th annual Battle in the 614 took place at Ohio Dominican, which pairs some of the best teams around Ohio against the top squads in Central Ohio. Pickerington Central, no stranger to the embracement of a difficult non-conference schedule, came short against one of the state’s most impressive teams in Division III as they were defeated by Toledo Central Catholic 63-51 on Sunday.
The Tigers overcame an 8-0 run by the Irish to open the game with a 9-0 run of their own. Yet after a three from Central Catholic’s Kingston Sito followed by a buzzer-beater three at the end of the first quarter from Jordan Langford, the Tigers would go on to trail for the remainder of the game.
Despite a hard-nosed effort that saw the Tigers attempt to press and trap the athletic Irish in the second half, Central Catholic showed a good IQ, strong ball movement and quality depth to avoid turnovers and a Tigers’ comeback.
“They are a really good team, they have a chance to represent their area at states in Division III,” Pickerington Central head coach Eric Krueger said after the game. “I thought our guys played extremely hard, but there were a few possessions here and there where we gotta finish and rebound. On those types of possessions, against a really good team like that, you gotta make a majority of those plays.”
