Central upsets rival Jackson

James Lane's emphatic two-handed slam with 10 seconds left said it all.

The Central Tigers shut down Jackson in the second half and pulled away for a 53-38 win Monday in the quarterfinals of the Southeast Missourian Christmas Tournament.

And they were excited.

"It was a breathe of fresh air," Lane said of his dunk. "It was crazy. I had a lot of energy."

The dunk was a fitting end for Lane's second-half performance. He scored 14 of his game-high 16 points in the second half.

"They were doubling James early," Central coach Drew Church said. "So we just talked about how he doesn't need to score every time. He wasn't selfish. He hit the open man and I told him, 'You're going to get yours by how hard you play.' He plays so hard good things are going to happen."

It was a rough start to the game for Central (6-2).

Jackson opened with a 9-2 run and led 14-9 after the first quarter.

"We went inside-out," Jackson coach Darrin Scott said. "We knocked down a few shots and guarded well. In the second, they made shots and we missed a few. But we quit moving. We didn't get any second shots. We lost our focus and the second quarter was key."

Church acknowledged the first was not the ideal start, but he was pleased with his team after that.

"The first quarter was kind of bad," Church said. "But we have some young kids, so it's a learning experience. In the second and on, I thought we dealt with that. We didn't quit, and we did the things we wanted to do."

Jackson opened the second with a 4-0 run to stretch the lead to 18-9 before Central found its form.

Tigers point guard Kevin Casasola scored on a driving layup and was fouled. He converted the free throw and added another basket to make it 18-14. After Jackson's Kyle Keith hit a jumper, Casasola knocked down a free throw and Andrew Williams drained two 3-pointers to send Central into the half up 21-20 after the 12-2 run to close the second.

Casasola had six of his 14 points in the second.

"Kevin came out a little slow," Church said. "But he settled down. He is so aggressive it makes things happen."

Central couldn't have asked for a better start to the third.

Terrance Howard hit a layup, Lane scored and Howard had another layup before Scott called a timeout to calm his team.

After the timeout, Lane responded with a put-back basket and knocked down the free throw after he was fouled to cap a 10-0 run that put Central up 30-20.

"Howard had a couple baskets early," Scott said. "That was big."

The Indians pulled within 32-28 after sophomore Caleb Newcomer hit a trey and Henrie Williams scored a basket, but Central's Blake Ozbun hit two free throws and a layup to give Central a 36-28 cushion heading into the final quarter.

In the fourth, Lane and Casasola took over. The duo netted 15 of their team's 17 points.

Central used a spread offense to run some clock and find open shots while Jackson struggled to put together anything.

The Indians cut Central's lead to 39-34 midway through the fourth, but Lane answered with a put-back to end momentum. After the Indians pulled to 41-36, Lane hit a free throw and Casasola hit two free throws and a basket to give Central a 46-36 lead.

"We told them we're not in a hurry," Church said. "Make them guard and get good shots. The kids responded, they took care of the ball, passed well and spread the court and made them guard."

"They spread the court well," Scott said. "The key is to pressure them, force a mistake. But we got behind the 8-ball and they took care of the ball and made free throws."

Central 9 12 15 17 -- 53

Jackson 14 6 8 10 -- 38

CENTRAL (53) -- Blake Ozbun 4, Andrew Williams 9, James Lane 16, Terrance Howard 4, Kevin Casasola 14, Zach Boerboom 6. FG 18, FT 14-24, F 10. (3-pointers: Williams 3. Fouled out: none)

JACKSON (38) -- Caleb Newcomer 3, Taylor Williams 5, Kyle Keith 5, Zach McDowell 2, Eli Gohn 2, Henrie Williams 9, Bobby Clark 12. FG 14, FT 7-11, F 24. (3-pointers: Newcomer 1, T. Williams 1, McDowell 2. Fouled out: Newcomer)