Boys Basketball: Westerville Central off to fast start, tops unbeaten Licking Heights
Tuesday, December 19, 2023
By Jarrod Ulrey
julrey@cbussports.com
Westerville Central’s Devin Martin shoots over the Licking Heights defense during the Warhawks’ 58-52 home win Dec. 19. Photo: Kevin Lam
The alarm bells that seemed to be ringing inside the Westerville Central boys basketball team’s postgame locker room Tuesday night had been building up for a few days.
The Warhawks came away with a 58-52 victory over previously unbeaten Licking Heights in a non-league home game, giving them a three-game winning streak and a 5-1 overall start that comes after they hovered at about .500 for most of last season.
Still, the coaching staff and players spent more than 30 minutes talking passionately after the game about the areas they believe need correcting.
This team, according to coach Kevin Martin, might just be too talented not to have high expectations going forward.
“We’ve got a really good group of kids, and we’ve had a heck of a schedule to start the season,” Martin said. “We’ve had some really good wins and have competed at a high level. (In a 76-72 win Dec. 15 over) Olentangy, to have as big of a lead as we had being up 11 to it coming down to a two-possession game … there’s some things we noticed in the last week in practice, like are we getting comfortable, are we this, are we that.
“We did some things defensively that we’re not accustomed to doing in our program. We’ve got to go back to our league against Grove City on (Dec. 22) and we’ve got to figure out how do we get better on that end of the court.”
Isaiah Brown, who led the Westerville Central with 20 points, shoots from the baseline during the Warhawks’ game with Licking Heights Dec. 19. Photo: Kevin Lam
Much of the beef the Warhawks had regarding their own play came from a first half in which they fell behind 30-25.
Central opened the second half with three consecutive baskets by senior guard Isaiah Brown to take a 31-30 lead and didn’t allow the Hornets to score until the 4:03 mark of the period.
The Warhawks led 41-38 after three quarters and built a 53-45 lead with 1:40 remaining on a basket by Brown off a pass from junior guard Maceo Harper.
During the final minute, senior guard Devin Martin – the coach’s son – made five of six free throws to seal it.
“We came out really tough (in the third quarter),” Brown said. “We (knew) we weren’t giving our best effort, and we just locked in and really played as a team.
“We’re in a good spot right now. We’re just trying to figure out some things. We should win a lot of games, and all we’ve got to do is buy into the team, have good teamwork, have good ball movement. We could really do something this year.
Brown finished with 20 points and Devin Martin had 14 to lead the Warhawks, who are 1-0 in the OCC-Ohio Division heading into their game against Grove City. The Greyhounds also are 5-1 overall and 1-0 in the league.
“We brought back three starters (from last season) and one guy that played a lot of minutes along with another that’s grown in the last year,” coach Martin said. “I liked this group coming out of last year and coming out of the summer. It’s a very talented group, but it’s about managing the process and how do we get better. (In 2020-21) when we made a run to the state final, we had talent, but people weren’t saying at the beginning of the year that we were one of the top teams in central Ohio. There’s a lot of factors that make you who you are.”
Guarded by Westerville Central’s Dallas Tucker (left), Licking Heights’ Alieu Ceesay looks to pass during the teams’ game at Central Dec. 19. Photo: Kevin Lam
Licking Heights went 13-11 last season but also is off to a 5-1 start.
Because the Hornets play in the LCL, which features mostly Division II and III programs, facing teams like Central and Gahanna, who they’ll play host to Dec. 23, are what they consider benchmarks to prepare them for what they’ll face in the coming Division I postseason.
Junior guard Amadou Ceesay, who coach Shaun Fountain believes could have been his team’s top player this winter, went down with a torn anterior cruciate ligament in the preseason.
His senior brother, Alieu Ceesay, has emerged as the No. 1 scoring option and finished with 12 points against the Warhawks.
Sophomore forward Nate Lovinsky had six points, including a dunk, in the second quarter as the Hornets turned a 16-11 first-quarter deficit into a five-point halftime lead.
Lovinsky finished with 11 points.
“(This is) an up-and-coming program, and the way you become the best is you have to play the best,” coach Shaun Fountain said. “I haven’t had a team like this that does everything together. (Central) got a lot of key stops and we made a lot of inexperienced plays. We came out a little lackadaisical, and I think we spent a lot of energy keeping them out of the paint.
“We’ve got Gahanna at home on Saturday, and that’s why we wanted to play these games. Our league is good, but we wanted to get out into the OCC and play these teams. It’s all about tests at this point.”
Licking Heights’ Ezra Bobo drives for the layup during the Hornets’ game at Westerville Central Dec. 19. Photo: Kevin Lam