Jared Sullinger, Northland
Behind 32 points from Ohio State signee Jared Sullinger, No. 5 Northland (Columbus, Ohio) delivered the first big moment of the 2009-10 high school basketball season Thursday night, beating No. 1 Findlay Prep (Henderson, Nev.) 53-52 in an ESPN-televised contest at Otterbein College outside of Columbus.
The loss snapped a 45-game win streak for Findlay Prep, who entered the game 12-0 on the season and averaging over 100 points per game.
Sullinger, a 6-foot-9 forward rated as the No. 2 prospect nationally in the 2010 class by MaxPreps, added 21 rebounds to his point total and hit a pair of free throws in the final seconds to give Northland (2-0) the victory.
“The bigger the game, the better he is going to play,” Northland head coach and proud father Satch Sullinger said of his star senior and son. “He is a big-time player.”
Findlay Prep scored 80 or more points in eight of its 12 contests this season – including five 100-point performances. But the Pilots mustered just 15 first-half points and finished with its lowest output in two seasons.
“We played great defense and rebounded extremely well,” Satch Sullinger said. “That was a team averaging 100 points per game coming in and we gave them one-and-done on the boards. We took away the tempo they are used to playing at and as the game went on they kind of pressed.”
Northland played without senior J.D. Weatherspoon, a 6-6 forward who will join Jared Sullinger at Ohio State. Weatherspoon suffered an ankle injury at practice Wednesday. The Vikings were playing just their second game of the season while Findlay Prep has been playing games for more than a month.
“That was a concern. We knew that offensively we would not be timed very well,” Satch Sullinger said.
Findlay Prep, who was paced by Tristan Thompson's 18 points Thursday night, must rebound in a hurry as it faces Austin Rivers and Winter Park (Fla.) on Saturday at the City of Palms Classic.
Northland faces Centennial of Columbus on Friday.
No. 14 Ames dominates Waukegan
In the second half of ESPN’s Thursday night high school doubleheader, No. 14 Ames (Iowa) crushed Waukegan (Ill.), 87-59, in front of over 6,000 fans at Hilton Coliseum on the campus of Iowa State University.
Ames superstar Harrison Barnes scored 26 points and grabbed 13 rebounds, easily winning the anticipated individual matchup with Illinois-bound Waukegan standout Jereme Richmond. Barnes committed to North Carolina last month.
Waukegan was an important hurdle for Ames in terms of the national rankings. The Little Cyclones have won 29 games in a row going back to last season, but all have come against in-state opponents until Thursday .
