The Ankeny Centennial boys’ basketball team was clinging to a 17-16 lead late in the first half of Tuesday’s game at Southeast Polk when the Rams’ bench was called for a technical foul.
There was no question which player Centennial coach Matt Delger would ask to shoot the free throws.
Junior guard Hunter Runchey made both of the ensuing attempts and the Jaguars eventually pulled away for a 57-39 victory. Runchey went 10-for-10 at the charity stripe while scoring a career-high 20 points and has yet to miss a free throw in 32 attempts this season.
“If there’s a technical, I know who I’m picking, right?” Delger said. “Hunter has been automatic at the stripe, and what a great way for him to keep scoring points is to just get to that free-throw line. He’s automatic.”
While Runchey scored 12 of his points in the first half, teammate Luke Mitchell took over in the second half. He scored 17 of his career-high 19 points in the final two quarters.
“We were confident,” said Mitchell. “We practiced all week trying to get prepared for it. We just knew we had a chance like we do in every game.”
Mitchell scored eight points in a 10-2 run to open the second half, allowing the Jaguars to build a 31-20 advantage. Southeast Polk could get no closer than six points the rest of the way.
“Mitchell was just like a rock out there all night long on both ends,” Delger said. “His rebounding and just so many toughness plays, and then he scored it as well.”
Mitchell’s 3-point goal gave Centennial a 38-28 lead early in the fourth quarter. Drew Hansen extended the margin to 45-31 with another trey midway through the period.
The Jaguars outscored Southeast Polk, 24-12, in the final 8 minutes.
“I think it was just a group of guys who were locked into the defensive game plan,” Delger said of his team’s win. “They just really worked their tails off and were locked into the details, so that helped.”
Hansen finished with eight points, six rebounds and a block. Keaton Kasperbauer contributed seven points, five boards and four assists, while Kolby Bechen added a pair of steals.
Runchey sealed the win with four more free throws in the last few minutes.
“It was great to see Hunter make all of those,” Mitchell said.
Runchey made a trio of baskets in the second quarter when Centennial took the lead for good. His jumper broke a 15-15 tie and put the Jaguars ahead to stay.
“Hunter was just so tough,” Delger said. “Offensively, he was just going and getting buckets over guys that are so much taller and bigger than him. In big moments too, he hit some big shots.”
The win improved Centennial’s record to 2-5 in the CIML Conference. It was the third straight loss for the Rams, who fell to 2-5 in the league and 5-5 overall.
Southeast Polk shot just 38.5 percent from the field (15-of-39). Emmanuel Tete had 12 points for the Rams, but was forced into four turnovers.
Southeast Polk’s leading scorer, sophomore Joshua Charlotin, picked up three fouls in the first 4 minutes and finished with just four points. He had been averaging 14.4 points.
The Rams got 12 points from reserve Ehikhueme Ehikhametator, who was playing in just his second game of the season. He had eight of those points in the second half despite playing with four fouls.
“The foul trouble was huge,” Mitchell said. “Getting Charlotin with three in the first quarter was huge for us, and then (Ehikhametator) got some also.”
The Jaguars will travel to Johnston on Friday for another conference game against the Dragons, who are 2-5 in the league and 3-5 overall. Johnston has won its last two games since Tino Daye Jr. returned to the team’s lineup.
