Central boys basketball team shreds Perryville 69-22

~ Central had little trouble at home against a potential district opponent

Central hit the ground running Tuesday night at home against Perryville.

The Tigers never looked back.

Central grabbed an early lead and cruised past the visiting Pirates (5-11) 69-22.

"We did come out and we were aggressive," Central coach Drew Church said. "I thought we put a little pressure on them and made sure every shot they took is tough. And that's something you want to do always on defense, make sure they take tough shots, and when you're on offense try to take good shots. I think they're tough shots led to some transition baskets and some good shots for us."

Central’s Jamal Cox takes a shot over Perryville’s Colin Schirmer during the first quarter Tuesday in at Central. (Fred Lynch)

The Tigers were active on defense from the start.

Central recorded several steals and forced numerous turnovers to build a 23-5 lead.

"Cape came out playing with a lot of energy and jumped on us from the start," Perryville coach Justin Dreyer said. "We haven't seen that type of pressure in a little while, and it bothered us from the start. They did a good job."

The Tigers kept the foot on the gas in the second quarter.

Six players scored for Central in the second.

"I thought tonight was a good team effort," Church said. "Nobody played spectacular, but I thought all together we played alright."

Central was thankful for the service of Sentrell Blackmon and the return of Mikey Jones.

Blackmon, a 6-foot junior, became eligible after the Christmas break. Jones, a 6-3 junior, returned after a two game absence due to tooth surgery.

"We've really missed Mikey the past [two] games because he's our best defender. He just gets stuff done," Church said. "He's on the boards. He'll get you offensive put-backs real quick. Sentrell is another guard that can play and can guard and can handle the ball. It just makes us deeper."

Jones scored a game-high 14 points, while Blackmon had 10 points.

"Just going through the motions and get looks and do it," Jones said. "It feels good to be back."

Central used the team play to build a comfortable 40-13 halftime lead.

"Coach told us we had to come out early and beat them to the punch and make something happen for our team," Central junior Jamal Cox said. "We just came out hard and pumped up and ready to play."

Central opened the second half with a 12-0 run for a 52-13 lead.

"Defense brings offense for our team," Cox said. "When we can get in transition it's easier for us to score because we have so many scoring options."

Cox had six of his 14 points in the third quarter.

"It's real tough, especially when you have a lead like that," Cox said. "It's harder to keep concentration."

Perryville struggled from the field all night while Central scored at will under the basket.

The Pirates shot 6 of 35 (17 percent) from the field, while Central was 28 of 52 (54 percent).

"That has to do with the pressure," Dreyer said.

The Tigers went to their bench for the later part of the third quarter and the majority of the fourth, allowing several younger players to see varsity action.

"To see some of these younger guys getting in there and the older guys cheering for them, that's something you like to see," Church said. "In basketball you don't have good teams without players understanding their roles. Guys that maybe don't see the court a whole lot, but bust their tails in practice, we like these games to get them a little time and get them to get on the court and play."

The game marked the first meeting between the foes since the Tigers moved to Class 4 District 1.

Dreyer is hopeful for a different outcome if the two teams meet again in district play.

"Our effort's one thing we have to work on," Dreyer said. "If you go up against a team like Cape and you don't play with much effort it's going to show, and you're going to have a result like you did tonight. That's one thing we've got to work on and figure out. We've still got a little over a month of basketball left. The efforts there sometimes and [sometimes] it's not, so hopefully it's something we can find and keep it there."

Perryville 5 8 4 5 -- 22

Central 23 17 23 6 -- 69

PERRYVILLE (22) -- Nate Kinnison 6, Garrett Martin 3, Colin Schirmer 9, Jacob Lawrence 4. FG 6, FT 9-16, F 17. (3-pointers: Kinnison. Fouled out: none.)

CENTRAL (69) -- Sentrell Blackmon 10, Al Young 5, Khane Booker 1, Garan Evans 11, Chase Haggerty 2, Jamal Cox 14, Braion Owens 4, Mikey Jones 14, Andre Statam 3, Marcus Dixon 3, Jalon Reddin 2. FG 28, FT 12-23, F 12. (3-pointers: Evans. Fouled out: none.)