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Buchtel senior basketball guard Jazel Garrett has received AP second-team All-Ohio, after averaging 14 points and almost six assists per game for the Griffins.
Two huge regular-season games highlight this weekend’s offerings in boys basketball.
The first showdown comes tonight at Manchester, where the Panthers challenge PAC-7 leader Canton Timken -- and face a virtual must-win scenario if they want to win the league.
Manchester (15-1, 9-1) trails the Trojans (12-2, 10-0) by one game with four contests to play. CVCA and Tusky Valley are both four games back and mathematically alive, but realistically done.
Timken won the teams’ first meeting, 75-54 at home last month, as guard Jehvon Clarke, a Bowling Green State recruit, scored a game-high 22 points for the victors.
The Panthers nearly squandered their title possibilities earlier this week before edging the Royals 55-54 thanks to 15 points and 13 rebounds from senior Mark Noble.
*** THE SUMMIT, MEDINA, PORTAGE COUNTY SEASON LEADERS ARE BELOW ***
Timken, meanwhile, is riding an incredible 50-game winning streak in PAC-7 play, but remains unrecognized in The Associated Press state poll. Manchester grabbed one first-place vote and currently sits fourth in Division III.
Closer to the top of AP’s rankings are two teams involved in our other marquee matchup.
Buchtel, which is No. 2 in the Division II poll, travels to Southwest Ohio to take on No. 1 Dayton Dunbar on Saturday night.
The Griffins (15-1) got ready for the Wolverines (14-2) by clinching the City Series regular-season title. Buchtel got 20 points, including six 3-pointers, from Marlon Oden and 19 points from Jazel Garrett in a 61-46 triumph over Firestone.
Dunbar is the defending OHSAA state D-II champion and is led by 6-foot-7 center Deontae Hawkins, who is averaging 16.6 points, 6.9 rebounds and 2.2 assists. Keontae Brown is next on the club in scoring 13.9 per game, while Gary Akbar is its top rebounder at 8.1.
Obviously, the winner of the Griffins/Wolverines game will be ranked No. 1 by AP next week. It also figures to be the favorite to win the state crown, so the stakes are very high.
Polling places
Walsh Jesuit, which has only lost once this season, moved up one spot to fifth place in this week’s AP Division II poll, while St. Vincent-St. Mary fell out of the top 15.
In Division I, Northeast Ohio Conference Valley Division leader Garfield Heights is ranked sixth. The Bulldogs are 16-0 entering their league game tonight at struggling Medina.
The Bees’ chances of catching Garfield Heights in the NOC’s top division took an enormous hit three days ago with their 46-44 loss at Brunswick. Blue Devils center (and West Virginia signee) Pat Forsythe dominated Medina to the tune of 25 points, 13 rebounds and five blocked shots -- all game-highs.
The Bulldogs are 6-0 in the division, putting them two games ahead of both Strongsville and Medina with four to play. The Mustangs entertain Brunswick this evening.
“Now that we got done with our Medina County rivalry against Medina, it’s time for our real rivalry against Strongsville,” Blue Devils coach Joe Mackey said.
Rubber City rivalry
While Buchtel has clinched its spot in the City Series championship game, its opponent is still undecided.
Firestone is 8-3 in league play, while Garfield has surged into third place at 7-4 with one contest remaining.
The Golden Rams moved within striking distance of the Falcons by steamrolling winless North 89-49. Forward Kevin Brewton paced Garfield with 18 points and 11 rebounds, while Chris Ardelain had 17 points.
Unfortunately, Garfield’s final City Series matchup is against Buchtel tonight -- meaning it must pull off a huge upset to force a tiebreaker. Firestone, however, can end all doubt by beating East in a concurrent contest.
The City Series championship will be played at Firestone on Feb. 18.
Suburban sprawl
Revere can clinch a share of the Suburban League title by defeating Highland at home tonight.
The defending conference champion Minutemen (14-1, 10-0) lead Green (12-3, 7-3) and Wadsworth (11-4, 7-3) by three games with four to play.
Their closest pursuants will also be in action as Mark Kinsley’s Bulldogs square off with Mike Schmeltzer Jr.’s Grizzlies.
Green is 9-1 in its last 10 contests, while Wadsworth is riding a six-game winning streak -- its longest in seven years.
Keep an eye on the two-on-two game within the game pitting the Bulldogs’ Evan Keeslar and Chris Witmer against the Grizzlies’ Prescott Williams and Josh Kipfer.
SUMMIT, MEDINA, PORTAGE COUNTY LEADERS
SCORING
27.1 / Antonio Hearn (Kenmore)
26.2 / Davonte Brunson (East)
24.4 / Evan Payne (Walsh Jesuit)
23.3 / Pat Forsythe (Brunswick)
19.7 / DaVonte Beard (St. Vincent-St. Mary)
18.6 / Ben Gency (Streetsboro)
18.4 / Kenny Kaminski (Medina)
17.9 / Travon Ambrose (Kenmore)
17.8 / Prescott Williams (Wadsworth)
17.4 / Leon Hedgepeth (Streetsboro)
17.2 / Larry Nance Jr. (Revere)
16.5 / Josh Kipfer (Wadsworth)
16.5 / Matt Knight (Windham)
16.2 / Ryan Tarter (Mogadore)
16.1 / Bruce Thomas (Kent Roosevelt)
16.0 / Isaiah Sanders (Ravenna)
14.3 / Jazel Garrett (Buchtel)
13.9 / D.J. Bettinger (Revere)
13.9 / Zach Brett (Kent Roosevelt)
13.9 / Justin Pratt (Norton)
13.7 / Chad Sedio (Highland)
13.5 / Jordan Burke (Copley)
12.8 / Anthony Keys (Barberton)
12.6 / Ben Checkelsky (Buckeye)
12.5 / Brendan Scott (Buckeye)
12.4 / Chris Witmer (Green)
REBOUNDING
12.3 / Pat Forsythe (Brunswick)
11.5 / Travon Ambrose (Kenmore)
10.2 / Ben Gency (Streetsboro)
10.1 / Josh Kipfer (Wadsworth)
10.1 / Bruce Thomas (Kent Roosevelt)
9.9 / Curtis Black (Kent Roosevelt)
9.8 / Shawntrail Smith (Buchtel)
9.5 / Larry Nance Jr. (Revere)
9.0 / Myles Bonner (East)
8.9 / Tyler Sherman (Norton)
8.1 / Ben Veach (Copley)
7.9 / Joe Tutie (Black River)
7.8 / Andrew Pratt (Green)
7.7 / Alex Roebken (Mogadore)
7.5 / Austin Adams (Highland)
7.5 / Kenny Kaminski (Medina)
ASSISTS
5.7 / Jazel Garrett (Buchtel)
5.4 / Rob Cundiff (Norton)
5.2 / Mycle Shadie (East)
5.0 / D.J. Bettinger (Revere)
4.7 / Kyle Wheeler (Brunswick)
4.6 / Jayln Tyler (Copley)
4.4 / Edward Julian (Streetsboro)
4.2 / John Alexander (Highland)
4.2 / Tate Moore (Wadsworth)
4.1 / Matt Knight (Windham)
4.1 / Evan Keeslar (Green)
3.9 / Ryan Wonders (Revere)
3.8 / Ryan Badowski (Brunswick)
3.7 / Prescott Williams (Wadsworth)
COACHES: Please send your season statistics to bdulik@sportsink.com for inclusion in our weekly leaders.