All it took for the Ankeny Centennial boys’ basketball team to snap a seven-game losing streak was to step out of conference play.
Winless in the CIML Conference at 0-11, the Jaguars hosted Dallas Center-Grimes in a non-conference game on Friday and turned in their best performance of the season.
Centennial made a school-record 16 3-point goals and rolled to an 80-49 victory over the Mustangs, who entered the week on a six-game winning streak before losing to both of Ankeny’s Class 4A schools in a span of four days.
“That was obviously a big shot in the arm for us,” said Centennial coach Bob Fontana, who returned to the bench after missing Tuesday’s game against second-ranked Valley due to an illness.
On its Senior Night, Centennial raced out to a 39-21 lead at halftime. The Jaguars then continued to pull away in the second half.
“I was really happy for our guys, especially the four seniors,” Fontana said. “Three of them have been starters, and the fourth one–Devin Vessely–came in later in the game and hit two 3s. That was a very enjoyable experience to watch.”
The other seniors all played a key role in the win. Sean Tunks poured in a season-high 26 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for a double-double, Cabryn Klingner had 13 points and dished out four assists, and Rex Jensen tied his career-high with 12 points.
Klingner also matched Tunks with three steals and two blocks.
Junior Brody Prill, who had scored a total of six points in nine games off the bench, erupted for a career-high 14 points. Freshman Keaton Kasperbauer, another reserve, contributed five assists.
The Jaguars also held Dallas Center-Grimes’ leading scorer, Kyle Cason, to 14 points–about 10 below his average. He had scored 42 points in a win at Pella a week ago.
“We rotated three guys on him, and they did a real nice job,” Fontana said.
Centennial improved to 2-11 on the season. The Mustangs dropped to 7-5.
The Jaguars will travel to Waukee on Friday for a conference game against the No. 5 Warriors, who are 9-2 in the league and 10-3 overall after dropping a 67-64 decision at No. 6 Waukee Northwest on Friday.
This is the first meeting between the two teams, who will play again on Feb. 11 at Centennial.
