Boys Basketball: Westerville North hangs on to beat Gahanna
Tuesday, December 5, 2023
By Jarrod Ulrey
julrey@cbussports.com
Westerville North’s Micah Young defends Gahanna’s Joseph Boddie on Dec. 5 at Gahanna. Photo John Hulkenberg
Micah Young called it a “March-like game.”
The Westerville North junior guard has realistic reasons to think he and his teammates will still be playing next March considering it’s coming off a 22-3 season that included winning the OCC-Capital Division championship, but so does the team it faced Tuesday night, host Gahanna Lincoln.
Like the Warriors, the Lions were league champions a year ago, going 20-5 and winning the OCC-Ohio.
Both teams also had the distinction of losing earlier than they hoped – in Division I district semifinals – but the tight play and talent on display in their matchup so early this winter signals that successful seasons again should loom for each program.
Boosted by four third-quarter 3-pointers that helped them build an 11-point lead, the Warriors held off a late rally to win 64-62 in non-league play.
“It’s a great win to start off the second game of the season,” said Young, whose team improved to 2-0 while the Lions dropped to 2-1. “I love this team a lot. I feel like we have a lot of potential, and we just have to maximize that potential. We got stops down the stretch and shot the ball well compared to the first half.”
While Young has matured into a 6-foot-2 slashing force after making third-team all-district last season, there are only two other players on North’s roster who are taller than 6-3.
Westerville North’s Tyson Perkins works against host Gahanna on Dec. 5. Photo: John Hulkenberg
Young was held to just one basket in the second quarter but hit four of five shots and a pair of free throws in the third period on his way to finishing with 24 points.
His brother, junior guard Tai Perkins, also hit a pair of 3-pointers in the second half on his way to scoring 12 points.
“We just kept pushing through the game, talking to each other and playing defense,” Perkins said. “We had a stretch when we went up 11, and we started shooting better and made some defensive adjustments. The second half, we had to make smarter traps and started playing better defense.”
Gahanna fell behind 9-2 but got a pair of 3-pointers from senior guard K.J. Reynald and got back to within 15-14 by the end of the first period.
The Lions took their first lead, at 27-25 with 1:22 left before halftime on a basket by junior guard Nasir Turner, and were ahead 29-28 at the break.
Gahanna stretched the lead to 33-28 early in the third period before North put together a 15-2 run that featured 11 points from Young.
“The kids believe in each other and trust in each other,” North coach Shan Trusley said. “We weren’t happy with the way we played in the first half, and all the credit goes to Gahanna because they played really well. We had a good conversation at halftime and we came out in the second half and moved the ball. Even though we didn’t shoot it well in the first half, we shot it well in the second half. We shared it and were able to stretch out that lead. That was important because we knew Gahanna wasn’t going to quit and that they’d keep coming.”
North led 58-50 with 2:41 remaining, but Gahanna junior guard Xavier Rogers hit a 3-pointer to cut it to five.
Gahanna’s Xavier Rogers moves with the ball during the Lions’ game with visiting Westerville North on Dec. 5. Photo: John Hulkenberg
The Lions had committed only three team fouls through the first 14 minutes of the second half and attempted to scratch its way back into it but still trailed by five when Reynald made a 3-pointer at the buzzer.
“Both teams have really good guards,” Gahanna coach Tony Staib said. “You saw that tonight. They’re hard to guard because they can drive it and they can shoot. I was proud of our guys. They battled. We just went through a little lull in the third quarter that lost just he lead. (North) turned up the pressure and it rattled us a little bit. We had some turnovers, and that three or so minutes turned the tide.
“K.J.’s off to a great start. This is just a great sort of early-season game to check our progress and see where we’re at, see what went well and what we need to work on. We’ve just got to fight, claw and scratch (to be successful.”
Reynald finished with 27 points, Rogers had 14 and senior forward Jonathan Whiteside added 10 for the Lions, who play host to Westland on Dec. 8 in their league opener.
North had nine players score overall, with 6-6 senior post player Vari Adams getting a dunk with 39 seconds remaining to make it 62-55 for his only points.
“We’re just really happy with tonight’s win because we’re next-door neighbors with each other, Gahanna and Westerville North,” said Trusley, whose team opens league play Dec. 8 at Franklin Heights. “I’m not one to believe in preseason polls, but everybody that does a poll has Gahanna in their top 10, and I think we’re pretty good. This early in the year, to play someone who’s probably going to be in a district semifinal, district final, and to come to their place and win the basketball game is a big deal.”
Gahanna’s Tavyon Wright defends during the Lions’ game with visiting Westerville North on Dec. 5. Photo: John Hulkenberg