The Ankeny Centennial boys’ basketball team has earned back-to-back wins for the first time this season.
Fresh off a 17-point victory over visiting Southeast Polk on Friday, the Jaguars traveled to Waterloo West on Saturday afternoon for a non-conference game and defeated the Wahawks, 57-51.
“This was a nice, hard-fought win for us,” said Centennial coach Matt Delger. “Waterloo West played very tough. The game was very physical, and we made 22 free throws. I was really pleased with how my guys were able to come back in after (Friday’s) win to get re-focused and prepared for Waterloo West.”
The Jaguars held a 30-25 lead at halftime. Waterloo West used a 10-2 run in the third quarter to tie the game at 40-40 before Centennial answered with a 7-1 run.
The Wahawks later closed the gap to 49-48 with about 2 minutes left, but Delger’s team was able to seal the victory at the charity stripe.
“We knew they would be scrappy and tough, and we knew they had some guys that could really get it going from 3,” Delger said. “They made a late run on us, but our guys played really tough down the stretch and found a way to win.”
Keaton Kasperbauer led the Jaguars with 17 points. Luke Mitchell and Brody Prill each added 13.
It was a career-high for Prill.
“I have been really pleased with the play of Brody and another senior, Kolby Bechen,” Delger said. “They have been so scrappy and tough on defense. They work their tails off for us and have been great leaders for us.”
Both teams are now 7-12 on the season.
Centennial will host sixth-ranked Ames (18-2) on Tuesday before holding its Senior Night on Thursday, when the Jaguars will close out the regular season by hosting another non-conference game against Des Moines Lincoln (8-12).
“We have another big week this week as we are trying to keep this momentum on into the postseason,” Delger said.