The Ankeny Centennial boys’ basketball team got off to a bad start in Tuesday’s non-conference game at Dowling Catholic.
The eighth-ranked Jaguars never recovered.
Dowling jumped out to an 11-0 lead less than 3 minutes into the first quarter and rolled to an 83-63 victory, handing Centennial its third consecutive loss. The Jaguars (10-4) allowed 83 points for the second time this season, matching the total that Valley scored in a win last month.
“It was a very bad start,” said Centennial coach Bob Fontana. “I was disappointed in how we came out on both ends of the floor.”
Dowling (7-7) snapped its own three-game losing skid by shooting 58.6 percent from the field, including 10-of-24 from 3-point range (41.7 percent). Jack Groeteke went 4-of-8 from behind the arc and scored 20 points to lead four Maroons in double figures.
“We did a really poor job of following our defensive game plan,” Fontana said. “We didn’t come close to executing what we had practiced. We gave them way too many good looks from the corners, and we’ve got to do a better job of contesting shots.”
Lio Aguirre led Centennial with 17 points. Brock Jensen had 12 points, and Chris Louis added 10.
Jaron Crews scored eight points in his return to the Jaguars’ lineup after missing Friday’s game against Ames due to an injury. But Centennial played without junior guard Caden Kelling, who sprained his ankle on Friday.
“Caden’s one of our best two or three defensive players, so we really missed him on that end of the floor,” Fontana said. “He also understands ball movement on offense, so we could have used him tonight. We hope to get him back for substate.”
Dowling had five of its 3-pointers in the first quarter while building a 27-18 lead. Aguirre had three of his own, scoring 11 points in the period to keep the Jaguars in the game.
Centennial closed the gap to seven points on three occasions in the third quarter before the Maroons pulled away. Sam Hughes made a 3-pointer to ignite a 9-0 run that extended Dowling’s lead to 54-38.
The Maroons eventually built a 73-50 advantage when Groeteke nailed a 3-pointer and then threw down a dunk on consecutive possessions early in the final period.
“I thought our poor defense led to some really poor possessions on offense,” Fontana said. “We had a season-high 15 turnovers, and we started forcing some stuff.”
Dowling’s Matt Riedl had 16 points and eight rebounds. Ryan Riggs chipped in 15 points, while Hughes added 11 points and five assists.
“They did everything right, and we did very little right,” Fontana said.
Centennial will travel to Mason City on Thursday for its CIML Iowa Conference finale against the Mohawks (5-13). The Jaguars need a victory to clinch the outright league title.
Centennial won the first meeting against Mason City, 76-48, on Jan. 23.
