A fast start ignited the Ankeny Centennial boys’ basketball team to a 78-44 victory over visiting Cedar Rapids Prairie in a non-conference game on Saturday.
The fifth-ranked Jaguars jumped out to a 30-11 lead at the end of the first quarter. They eventually built a 67-33 advantage after three periods.
“We got off to a great start,” said Centennial coach Bob Fontana, whose team improved to 11-4 on the season. “I thought we were very businesslike. We had great ball movement and defensively we were pretty good as well.”
Nick Vaske tied his career-high with 18 points to lead four Jaguars in double figures. He made 9-of-10 free throws and also grabbed six rebounds.
Joey Oakie scored a career-high 15 points and also had three steals. Chase Schutty racked up 13 points, 13 boards and four blocks, while Luke Winkel added 13 points and seven assists.
Connor Welsch chipped in eight points, all of them in the first quarter.
“We had really good balance,” Fontana said. “All five of our starters hit at least one 3-pointer.”
Reid Burkle had 11 points, eight rebounds and two blocks to lead Prairie (5-8). All of his points came in the first half.
“(Burkle) is averaging about 16 points a game, but I thought Chase did a nice job on him,” Fontana said.
Centennial played without Will Smith and Kael Jones, who were both sick. Another reserve, Drake Dittmar, got injured in the third quarter.
“I wish we could get healthy,” Fontana said. “But I was able to get a lot of guys into the game, and none of our starters played more than 21 minutes. It was nice to give some minutes to our bench guys.”
The Jaguars will host another non-conference game against Des Moines North (10-4) on Monday. The Polar Bears are led by Wisdom Fode and Da’corion White, who both average more than 13 points a game.
“North has got a nice club,” Fontana said. “They’re very athletic and play well together. It’ll be a tough test for us.”
