Bob Fontana celebrated his birthday on Tuesday with a season-opening victory.
His Ankeny Centennial boys’ basketball team jumped out to an early lead and led all the way in a 64-51 win at Urbandale in a CIML Conference game.
“It was a good road win and a good way to start the season,” said Fontana. “You never know what to expect the first game. You’re going into the game blind, and they have a new coach and you have nothing on them. You just hope that your principles and concepts are solid and hope for the best.”
The Jaguars made 3-pointers on four of their first five possessions. They built a 20-13 lead at the end of the first quarter and held a 32-25 margin at halftime.
Centennial extended its advantage to 52-40 after three periods.
“We got off to a good start and led by six to 13 points most of the game,” Fontana said. “We were getting outrebounded at halftime, but we did a much better job the second half. I also thought we did a really good job of taking care of the ball. We only had five turnovers, so that was a big positive for us this early in the season.”
Luke Winkel led four Centennial players in double figures with 18 points. He also grabbed seven rebounds and dished out seven assists.
Chase Schutty had a double-double with 16 points and 12 boards.
“Chase was really good,” Fontana said.
Joey Oakie and Nick Vaske each added 12 points for the Jaguars. Vaske also had six rebounds.
“It was nice to have that balanced scoring,” Fontana said.
Brevin Phillips had 12 points and 10 rebounds to lead the J-Hawks. Grant Uecker also scored 12 points, and Caden Burns chipped in 10.
“Connor Welsch’s defense was outstanding on their best guard (Uecker), who is a three-year starter for them,” Fontana said. “He did a great job for us.”
Centennial played without projected starter Isaac Runchey, who sprained an ankle during practice on Friday. He is expected to be back next week.
The Jaguars will travel to Dowling Catholic on Friday for another conference game against the Maroons (0-1), who opened their season on Tuesday with a 72-69 loss to defending Class 4A state champion Valley. Dowling forward Joe Broderick had 31 points and 17 rebounds in the loss.
“It’ll be a tough test for us,” Fontana said. “They’re physical–they’ve got some size and athleticism. I think they’ll be a better team than they were a year ago. We’re going to have to be strong on the defensive end.”
