Bob Fontana wasn’t sure how much his Ankeny Centennial boys’ basketball team had improved since the Jaguars lost to top-ranked Ames, 58-38, a month ago.
Friday’s rematch at Ames produced some mixed results.
No. 10 Centennial battled Ames down to the wire before dropping a 44-37 decision, but the Little Cyclones earned the victory without their all-state point guard.
Tamin Lipsey, an Iowa State recruit, did not play after suffering an injury during Tuesday’s win at Marshalltown.
“He’s very talented and he makes everyone around him better, and I’ve said that for the last three years,” Fontana said of Lipsey. “We had heard he might not play. He took a pretty nasty fall at Marshalltown, and I’m sure they’re just being cautious with him because they’ve got the postseason ahead of them.
“It’s a credit to their other kids for stepping up,” he added.
Trevion LaBeaux scored eight straight points to open the fourth quarter and Ames held on for the win, allowing the Little Cyclones to clinch at least a share of the CIML Iowa Conference title. They are now 10-0 in the league and 15-1 overall, while Centennial’s records dropped to 5-5 and 9-7.
It was the 12th straight win for Ames, which had won its previous five games by an average of 28.4 points. The loss ended the Jaguars’ six-game winning streak.
“I was proud of our kids’ physical effort and their approach to the game,” Fontana said. “We’ve just got to do a better job of finishing and also with some special situation stuff at the end of quarters, both offensively and defensively.”
Ames led almost the entire way but could never build a comfortable lead. The Little Cyclones held a 30-26 advantage after three quarters.
That’s when LaBeaux, a 6-foot 4-inch forward, provided some breathing room. He scored on a drive to the hoop, hit a pair of free throws and then added two more baskets to give Ames a 38-31 lead.
However, Centennial refused to go away, getting back-to-back 3-point goals from Jackson Snyder. Luke Winkel then made another trey to close the gap to 40-37 with 3 minutes 8 seconds left.
After forcing a turnover, the Jaguars had a chance to tie the game, but a 3-pointer by Caden Kelling bounced off the rim with about 1 minute remaining.
“We had a great look, and it was right on line,” Fontana said. “I thought it was going down.”
Ames’ Corey Phillips made two free throws with 33 seconds left to extend the lead to 42-37. After Winkel missed a 3-pointer, Jamison Poe added two more free throws to complete the scoring with 15 seconds to go.
LaBeaux and Phillips each had 14 points for the Little Cyclones, who outrebounded Centennial by a 27-13 margin. Phillips also had eight boards, two assists, two steals and two blocks.
Snyder led the Jaguars with 15 points on perfect 6-of-6 shooting. He has averaged 15 points over the last three games after sitting out three games due to an injury.
Winkel contributed six points, three rebounds and four steals. Reece Robinson added six points and two blocks.
The Little Cyclones made all 14 of their free throws. Centennial was just 7-of-13 at the line.
“Statistically, the whole difference in the game was free throws,” Fontana said. “That’s the seven-point margin right there.”
The Jaguars trailed by just 16-14 in the second quarter before Phillips made a layup and Devin Settle drove the length of the court for a basket at the buzzer to make it 20-15 at the break.
Fontana said his team missed some golden opportunities in the first half.
“We missed five or six rim attacks and went 2-of-7 at the line,” he said. “We had some good movement, but you’ve got to be able to finish. Obviously, their length gave us some problems. Even without Lipsey, they still played well. They’ve got some pretty dang good players.”
Centennial will host a non-conference game against Dowling Catholic (6-11) on Tuesday before returning to Iowa Conference play on Friday with a trip across town to No. 6 Ankeny (14-3).
