Woodward Park Goes Wild

On a cold Monday night in Columbus, Ohio, the Wildcats of Woodward Park Middle School set fire to their homecourt in a 61-13 explosive win over Medina Middle School.

Marquez Howard led all scorers with 14 points, While Reuben Holmes and Pharoahe Zaire had 13 points each. Point guard Ta'vyon Wright also scored 12, rounding out the four Woodward Park players who tallied double-digits.

One of the more exciting performances of a game filled with excitement came from Kaden Thomas who appeared off of the bench to further fuel the defense that ended the first quarter with a 29-2 lead.

"Everybody in here knows who had the best defensive game today," coach Clyde Johnson said to his team in the locker room, when celebrating Thomas' effort. "You guys have to continue to play hard defense against every single opponent you play, so everybody knows when they come in here, that they're only getting a certain amount of points. We need to do that to everybody and how we do that is coming in here on time to practice ... taking care of business in school, that way we don't miss practice and just be accountable young men."

The group of seventh and eighth grade boys swarmed the losing visiting squad getting steals, rebounds and even a slam dunk as Howard slammed in two points in the second half, leading to an eruption of the home crowd and cheerleaders.

Wright showcased his excellent playmaking skills getting numerous assists, while also playing strong defense. He was happy to compete for his school after last year's middle school season was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He is also enjoying his time playing under the leadership of coach Johnson.

"[Coach Johnson] is teaching me more and more," Wright said. "The little stuff of the game that I didn't know, I know the moves and where to go but the plays that he's teaching me and how to be a point guard is really helping me."

Woodward Park goes on the road to face Ridgeview, Dec. 1, at 4:30 pm.

NCAA

No. 9 Kentucky 85, Central Michigan 57

Forward Oscar Tshiebwe scored 20 points with 16 rebounds as host Kentucky routed Central Michigan. Tshiebwe has grabbed 10 or more rebounds in all of his seven games this season. He kicked off the season with 20 rebounds against Duke as well as Robert Morris in back-to-back appearances.

He shot 6-8 from the field against Central Michigan. Tshiebwe also collected three steals with one blocked shot.

Illinois 82, Notre Dame 72

Illinois center Kofi Cockburn led all players with 28 points as his team beat Notre Dame, Monday night. His teammate Alfonso Plummer scored 21 points, going a perfect 8-8 from the free-throw line. Illinois shot 52 percent from the field, including 11-27 (40 percent) from three. Notre Dame shot 45 percent, including 8-22 (35 percent) from long distance.

Blake Wesley scored 24 points off of the bench for the Irish, knocking down five of his eight three-point attempts.

NBA

Minnesota 100, Indiana 98

Minnesota improved to 11-10 edging out the visiting Pacers as two centers went to war. Karl-Anthony Towns scored 32 points for the winning Timberwolves, while Indiana's big man Domantas Sabonis had a triple-double with 16 points, 26 rebounds and 10 assists. Towns' effort marked the fourth time this season that he has scored 30 or more points. He also grabbed eight boards and dished out two assists.

Sabonis usually shoots over 55 percent, but Minnesota limited him to 41 percent on 5-12 shooting. He is in a bit of a slump shooting 6-20 over the last two games. Sabonis' 25 rebounds and 10 assists are season highs.