Central boys basketball team makes final district prep a rout

Central flexed its muscle against visiting Dexter Friday night, showing it was going to be a tough out in this week's district play.

The Bearcats showed they still needed some tune-ups before this week's postseason play.

The Tigers shrugged off a sluggish start and overwhelmed Dexter 61-35 on senior night.

"We've been off since last week, so we've had this full week of practice and we really needed a game to play," Central coach Drew Church said. "We needed a game, and we needed to play well. Even though we came out a little soft the first half, I think the second half we came out and played a little better. Regardless of who it was, we needed to play a game going into districts."

The Tigers, the second seed in Class 4 District 1, pounded the offensive glass.

"We were just boxing out and being strong," Central junior Jamal Cox said. "Trying to grab boards and make our shots count."

Central (15-10) turned a close first quarter into a rout by the third quarter in front of a raucous crowd.

The Bearcats hung tough in the first, closing on a 4-0 run to cut the Tigers' lead to 14-13.

"They definitely tried to slow the game down," Church said. "To their credit, they did a good job. They were solid offensively, and they made a bunch of passes and really back-screened. It was kind of a flex they were running and they ran it well, and our guys didn't grasp it well.

Dexter held the ball the first minute and a half of the second quarter before Myles Urhahn connected on a 3-pointer to give the Bearcats a 16-14 advantage.

"We just have to play patient, really try to take some possessions out of the game," Dexter coach Rob Nichols said. "I thought we did a good job of that, but as the game wore on their strength and their size really just wore us out."

The Tigers took over from there, outscoring the Bearcats 12-4 to close the quarter. The duo of forward Cox and combo guard Sentrell Blackmon scored eight of the Tigers' 12 points.

"We wanted to go inside against their zone, but they collapse so well, so we needed guys to step up," Church said. "Flashing, hitting jumpers and kind of attacking the basket."

Central turned it over to their senior in the second half.

Garan Evans, Central's lone senior starter, scored eight of his game-high 14 points in the decisive third.

"Last time in my gym so I had to do what I could to get the win," Evans said. "I was just trying to make plays and win. I didn't want to lose on my last night."

Church praised the progression of Evans throughout his career.

"I really think he's developed as a player and a person," Church said. "I'm proud of him. He's worked his butt off. I really think whatever he tries to do in the future, he's going to be successful."

The Tigers opened the second half with an alley-oop to Cox and stretched their six-point halftime lead into a 37-26 advantage midway through the third.

The Tigers then closed on a 12-3 run to take a commanding 49-29 lead into the fourth before running away with it.

DJ Dowdy led Dexter with 12 points.

Dexter 13 7 9 6 -- 35

Central 14 12 23 12 -- 61

DEXTER (35) -- Nick Noble 6, DJ Dowdy 12, Brad Potts 8, Jordan Miller 1, Chandler Young 3, Myles Urhahn 5. FG 15. FT 1-3. (3-pointers: Noble 2, Urhahn. Fouled out: none.)

CENTRAL (61) -- Sentrell Blackmon 8, Garan Evans 14, Mikey Jones 6, Andre Statam 8, Jamal Cox 12, Al Young 11, Chase Haggerty 2. FG 26. FT 6-8. (3-pointers: Evans 2, Young. Fouled out: none.)