Central's inside-outside presence pays off

~ The Tigers leaned on Casasola and Lane in their 65-49 victory

Kevin Casasola sliced and diced on the perimeter while James Lane dominated the paint Wednesday.

The lethal combination helped Central earn a 65-49 win over visiting Festus.

The Tigers had their hands full at first.

Festus and Central were knotted at 7-7 midway through the first quarter before the Tigers' defense came alive.

Central closed the quarter on an 8-1 run that involved several forced turnovers.

"Defensively, we played better," Central coach Drew Church said. "We got some steals and made it tough on their top threat [Cody Roberts]. He was held to four or five tonight. We really tried to hold him tonight. We got some steals and took away what he wanted to do and it led to some running."

Casasola and Lane combined for 13 of the Tigers' 15 points in the first quarter.

Central extended its lead in the second.

After Festus opened the quarter with a quick basket, the Tigers held Festus scoreless for nearly five minutes while going on a 12-0 run to take a 27-10 lead.

Festus' top threat, Roberts, came in averaging about 25 points a game, but the Tigers' defense keyed on him the entire night, limiting him to five points and forcing him into several turnovers.

"He's a really good player," Lane said of Roberts. "He gets boards. On defense, our key was to box him out and keep him off the boards and from scoring."

Festus closed the gap to 31-19 near the end of the first half, but two buckets by Lane, including one on an uncontested layup at the buzzer, helped Central head into half up 35-21.

Festus refused to go away in the second half, but the Tigers didn't budge.

Church acknowledged that coming out after half with a comfortable lead sometimes makes it tough to stay focused.

"We always talk about turning the screws when you have a lead," he said. "It's tough sometimes. High school kids want to let up, but it's early in the season."

The Tigers did a good job of not letting up, thanks to the strong play of their point guard, Casasola.

He took over in the third, scoring eight of his 21 points in the quarter.

After Lane started the second half with a basket, Casasola scored eight of the next 10 Tigers points to help Central keep its lead at 14.

"He just plays so hard," Church said of Casasola. "He gives us a ballhandler, he gives us a defender that gets his hands on a lot of things and he pushes the ball. He takes the pressure off a lot of people and that opens up things for other people."

Lane is glad to have Casasola running the show.

"He's pretty good," Lane said. "We know we have somebody that can handle the ball and get it to us when we need it."

Festus' pressure rattled the Tigers for a few possessions in the fourth, but Central responded and held its lead.

"We just need to get the ball where it needs to be -- in our ballhandlers' hands and spread out and let them bring it," Church said. "We need to get to a point where it doesn't rattle us, and we're not there yet. We have a lot of things to work on, but this is a step in the right direction."

Lane finished with eight points in the fourth and a game-high 24 on the night.

"He's active," Church said of his junior forward. "Rebounding-wise, he goes after it. He's real good at jumping. He's a got a quick jump. The main thing is he's active. He gets the ball high-low a lot. He catches and scores, and if he doesn't score, he gets his rebound and goes right back up."

Lane credited his attitude and team's strong perimeter play for his success Wednesday.

"The key was just go after it," Lane said. "Don't really think about anything. We did pretty good out on the perimeter and they helped me get the ball in."

Festus 8 13 12 16 -- 49

Central 15 20 12 18 -- 65

FESTUS (49) -- Logan Bone 2, Jordan Ruffin 5, Zach Bey 2, Jeremy Moss 6, Cody Roberts 5, Ryan Yuengel 18, Brendon Neel 11. FG 18, FT 10-18, F 13. (3-pointers: Moss 2, Neel 1. Fouled out: none)

CENTRAL (65) -- James Lane 24, Kevin Casasola 21, Zach Boerboom 8, Andrew Williams 4, Blake Ozbun 4, Terrance Howard 2, Dylan Thomas 2. FG 30, FT 4-10, F 17. (3-pointers: Casasola 1. Fouled out: Boerboom)