A 30-point third quarter helped the Ankeny Centennial boys’ basketball team pull away for a 78-62 victory over visiting Newton in a non-conference game on Tuesday.
The eighth-ranked Jaguars improved to 2-0 on the season. The Cardinals dropped to 3-1.
“They were unbeaten,” said Centennial coach Bob Fontana. “I’d seen them on tape, and I was impressed with how hard they played and played well together.”
Newton opened the second quarter with a 7-0 run to take a 26-23 lead. Centennial answered with a 13-5 run to move ahead at halftime, 36-31.
The Jaguars then took control of the game in the third quarter.
“Hats off to Newton,” Fontana said. “They came out aggressive and shot the ball well. I’m just glad we played better in the second half. We rebounded well, and I thought our defense created some offense.”
Jaron Crews scored 20 points to lead Centennial, making 4-of-8 3-point shots. He also dished out five assists.
Chris Louis came off the bench and contributed 14 points, four rebounds, three assists and two steals.
“Chris is very athletic,” Fontana said. “He had a nice game for us.”
Lio Aguirre had nine points for the Jaguars. Colin McAleer, Brock Jensen and Tyler Johnson each added seven.
Adam Mattes scored 15 points to lead four Newton players in double figures. Logan Schilling added 13 points, including three of the Cardinals’ nine 3-pointers.
Centennial will play a CIML Iowa Conference game at Marshalltown (0-1) on Friday.
