Centennial boys use late run to beat S.E. Polk, move into 2nd place in conference

Ankeny Centennial’s Isaac Runchey scores the go-ahead basket midway through the fourth quarter of Friday’s game at Southeast Polk. He had 10 points in the Jaguars’ 64-55 victory. (Photo by Drue Wolfe)

For the second time in four days, the Ankeny Centennial boys’ team didn’t play its best basketball but still managed to pull out a road victory.

The eighth-ranked Jaguars closed out the game with a 15-3 run to post a 64-55 win at Southeast Polk on Friday.

“Just like Tuesday night (at Waukee Northwest), we were like a rollercoaster at times,” said Centennial coach Bob Fontana. “We played well for a couple minutes and then we wouldn’t play well for a couple minutes. We’ve got to be more consistent, especially on the offensive end. But we had some breakdowns on the defensive end, too.”

**Ankeny Centennial’s Nick Vaske shoots a free throw in the final minutes of Friday’s game. He made 3-of-4 attempts in the last 1:46 to help seal the win. (Photo by Drue Wolfe)**

Southeast Polk led, 52-49, before Centennial dominated the last 5 minutes. The Jaguars took the lead for good, 54-53, when Isaac Runchey converted a layup off an assist by Luke Winkel with 3:47 to go.

Runchey had 10 points and three rebounds off the bench.

“Runchey was a huge shot in the arm for us,” Fontana said.

Winkel followed with a 3-point goal at the 3-minute mark. He led Centennial with 23 points, going 5-for-7 from behind the arc, while also contributing five assists and four steals.

**Ankeny Centennial’s Luke Winkel goes up for a shot during Friday’s game. He scored 23 points on 8-of-11 shooting, including 5-of-7 from 3-point range. (Photo by Drue Wolfe)**

The Jaguars then made 7-of-8 free throws over the last 1:46 to seal the win, including 3-of-4 by Nick Vaske. Vaske finished with 10 points and four rebounds.

Connor Welsch had nine points in the win. Will Smith contributed seven points and two rebounds.

“I thought Will made some big plays in the second half,” Fontana said. “He’s been doing some good things.”

**Ankeny Centennial’s Will Smith is fouled by Southeast Polk’s Trey Lust while going up for a shot during Friday’s game. He had seven points in the Jaguars’ win. (Photo by Drue Wolfe)**

Chase Schutty grabbed 15 rebounds for the Jaguars. He played the entire game.

“He really carried us on the boards, and that was huge obviously,” Fontana said.

Centennial made 17-of-19 free throws. Southeast Polk, which got 15 points from Bode Goodman, went just 5-of-13 at the charity stripe.

Centennial improved to 6-2 in the CIML Conference and 8-2 overall, while the Rams’ records dropped to 1-7 and 3-7. The Jaguars moved into second place in the league with Valley’s double-overtime loss at Waukee.

Centennial will host a conference game against Dowling Catholic (5-5) on Tuesday. The Jaguars will be looking to avenge a 79-64 loss at Dowling on Dec. 1.