The Ankeny Centennial boys’ basketball team picked a bad night to have its worst offensive performance of the season.
The 10th-ranked Jaguars shot just 34.6 percent from the field (18-of-52) and dropped a 64-41 decision to No. 8 Ankeny in a Class 4A substate final on Tuesday at Southeast Polk.
It was a season-low output for Centennial, which finished with a 17-7 record.
“First of all, congratulations to Ankeny on the win and a game well-played by them,” said Centennial coach Bob Fontana, whose team had split a pair of meetings against the Hawks during the regular season. “But I can’t say enough about our 12 senior players and their parents–they have been a great group the last two years. We’ve had no player drama, no parent drama, and they’ve been so enjoyable to coach. We have a great mix of personalities and very supportive parents of the program. I’m just very thankful for the two years I had with them. We’re going to miss them.”
After trailing at halftime 28-19, the Jaguars closed to within three points on four occasions in the third quarter. The last time came on a 3-point goal by Will Smith that cut Ankeny’s lead to 39-36 late in the period.
The Hawks then answered with a trey by Lio Aguirre, who finished with five 3-pointers and a game-high 22 points.
“We just couldn’t get stops,” Fontana said. “We were trading 3s with them.”
The Jaguars were then called for a technical foul as Centennial dribbled the ball up the court. Ankeny’s Carson Johnson made the two free throws, then Aguirre scored on a tip-in at the buzzer on the ensuing possession to give the Hawks a 46-36 lead.
“That was a huge turning point when one of our players on the bench got a technical,” Fontana said. “It took the ball out of our hands, they make the two free throws and then score to go up by 10. It changed any momentum we had, and we never recovered.”
Centennial’s Luke Winkel opened the fourth quarter with a 3-pointer, but the Jaguars were then outscored, 18-2, the rest of the way. Winkel was held to a season-low seven points after scoring 30 and 37 in the previous two games against Ankeny.
Joey Oakie had 12 points and seven rebounds in the loss. Smith chipped in seven points, while Chase Schutty had 10 rebounds and three steals.
Centennial did not attempt a free throw until reserve Kael Jones went to the line in the final minute.
“I’ve been coaching a long time and coached in many substate finals, and I’ve never had a team not shoot a free throw–unless you count those two at the end,” Fontana said. “There were some peculiar officiating situations. I also thought we had three and-ones, but they ended up calling the foul on the floor and taking the basket away.”
