A huge second quarter propelled the Ankeny Centennial boys’ basketball team to a non-conference road victory on Monday.
The Jaguars outscored Dallas Center-Grimes in the second period, 27-8, to build a 38-19 advantage at halftime. They then held on for a 55-51 win despite scoring just 17 points in the last two quarters.
“It was a good one for us,” said Centennial coach Matt Delger. “I’m happy for our guys and proud of them.”
Centennial’s 27-point second quarter was its highest-scoring period of the season. The previous high was 24 points in the fourth quarter of a 57-39 victory at Southeast Polk on Jan. 6.
“I don’t know if we could have played much better in the first half,” Delger said. “Things were clicking for us.”
Dallas Center-Grimes closed the gap to 44-36 after three quarters. The Mustangs pulled even closer in the final minutes, but could not complete the comeback.
“They made some adjustments, switched defenses, cranked up some pressure and were able to close the gap a little bit,” Delger said.
The win snapped a two-game losing skid for the Jaguars, who improved to 4-8 on the season. Dallas Center-Grimes fell to 6-5.
Keaton Kasperbauer led Centennial with 16 points, while Hunter Runchey chipped in 14. Luke Mitchell had nine points, Kolby Bechen and Drew Hansen each scored 6, and Brody Prill added four.
“We had nice balanced scoring,” Delger said.
The Jaguars will host a CIML Conference game against eighth-ranked Urbandale on Tuesday. The J-Hawks are 5-4 in the league and 6-4 overall after dropping a 68-61 decision to No. 3 Dowling Catholic on Friday.
Centennial lost the first meeting at Urbandale, 42-39, on Dec. 12.
“We’re excited to see just how our guys can handle a quick turnaround and be ready to go to battle again,” Delger said.