(Story by Jordan Wood)
Coming into the Waukee Fieldhouse as an underdog on Friday night, the Ankeny Centennial boys’ basketball team hung tough for awhile before third-ranked Waukee eventually pulled away for a 63-46 victory.
The Jaguars trailed by just 32-27 at halftime, but Waukee extended its margin in the second half and went on to post its 11th straight triumph. The Warriors’ winning streak included a 54-46 victory at Centennial on Jan. 2.
“I really liked how our guys came out fearless and challenged them,” said Centennial coach Matt Delger. “To be where we were at half, we would probably take that all day with Waukee being such a good team.”
The first quarter started in bleak fashion for the Jaguars with Waukee’s Landon Hanson recording two slam dunks, both originating from forced turnovers at the opposite end of the court.
This seemed to be a trend for much of the first quarter, with Waukee flexing its athleticism and offensive prowess, yet the Jaguars remained in the game thanks to Hunter Runchey. He scored 10 of his 15 points in the opening period, keeping his team within striking distance at 20-14.
Centennial made it a fight in the second quarter and put some pressure on the Warriors, closing the gap to 32-27 at halftime. Kolby Bechen had six of his eight points in the period.
The second half began with a back-and-forth defensive matchup, with both sides missing the mark on their shots.
However, the final 4 minutes of the third quarter was ultimately where daylight was created on the scoreboard and set the Warriors up to sweep the season series.
The Jaguars continued to struggle in hitting their shots and seemed unable to win the rebounding battle against Waukee’s Evan Jacobson, who grabbed eight rebounds to help his team to a 28-15 advantage on the boards.
Centennial scored just six points in the third quarter as the Warriors built a 48-33 lead.
“When we were talking about it as a staff, we really do think we created a lot of good shots, and we were actually stringing stops together on the other end of the floor,” Delger said. “We’re creating good shots, and they just weren’t falling.
“When they were able to get that lead, it kept expanding and they’re a tough team to come back on,” he added.
Waukee shifted its defensive plan into an almost victory formation as the Warriors forced Centennial to shoot from the outside, and the Jaguars were unable to find their stroke.
It wasn’t until the fourth quarter that Runchey found himself at the line, where he made both of his free throws and maintained his reputation from the stripe. He is now 58-of-60 for the season (96.7 percent).
Keaton Kasperbauer and Luke Mitchell each had eight points for Centennial. The Jaguars fell to 3-11 in the CIML Conference and 5-11 overall.
Jacobson scored 19 points and had three blocks for Waukee, which lifted its records to 11-2 and 15-2. Max Roach added 15 points, seven assists and four steals.
Centennial will host a conference game against Johnston on Tuesday. The Dragons are 6-8 in the league and 9-8 overall.
The Jaguars lost the first meeting at Johnston, 66-35, on Jan. 9.
