CENTERVILLE —
Fourteen wins and counting. After suffering a season-opening loss to Fort Madison, the fifth-ranked (Class 3A) Centerville boys basketball has been a dominant force that no one has been able to stop.
The good times continued for the Big Reds Monday as they blasted Oskaloosa, 69-39, in front of their home crowd in a game where four of Centerville players scored in double figures.
Logan Dabney scored a game-high 16 points, corralled 10 rebounds and accounted for all four of Centerville’s blocks. Kolton Gonnerman added 14 points, Michael Starcevich scored 12 and Garrett Faris chipped in 10 and drilled two of the Big Reds three 3-pointers.
Centerville — which moved up to fifth in the Class 3A AP rankings on Monday — took control of game quickly and led 19-6 by the end of the first quarter.
“We came out pretty aggressive and caused a few turnovers which made the transition game a little easier,” Big Reds coach Matt Kruzich said.
Things didn’t get any easier in the second quarter for the Indians, as the Big Reds emphatically demonstrated why they are worthy of their high ranking. Centerville piled on 22 points in the quarter and went into halftime with a commanding 41-14 lead. Not only were the Big Reds able to use their pressure defense to create turnovers — which they aptly turned into transition buckets — they also were able to get points through their half-court offense.
“We were pretty balanced,” Kruzich said. “Our half-court execution was pretty good.”
Perhaps some of the credit for Centerville’s offensive productivity should go to Payton Busch, who handed out a team-high eight assists.
“He’s a sharing point guard and he’s getting everybody the ball, which is a great thing; and Dabney is reaping the benefits,” Kruzich said.
Clay Tucker spearheaded the Indian offense with a team-high 14 points and Austin Redlich added eight and Ryan Reiter chipped in seven.
Oskaloosa (3-13) plays host to Indianola Saturday in a non-conference game. Centerville (14-1, 7-0) plays Chariton at home Friday in South Central Conference action.
Centerville 69, Oskaloosa 39
Osky 6 8 13 12 — 39
Cent 19 22 16 12 — 69
Oskaloosa (39) — Clay Tucker 14, Austin Redlich 8, Ryan Reiter 7, Ryder Curtis 4, Tyce Sarver 2, Drew Richmond 2, Jordan Lowry 2. Totals 16 FG 6-13 FT 39.
Centerville (69) — Logan Dabney 16, Kolton Gonnerman 14, Michael Starcevich 12, Garrett Faris 10, Jesse Stufflebeem 4, Spencer Sharp 4, Levi Seabolt 3, Ben Grothe 2, Jeremy Stufflebeem 2, Jared Armington 2. Totals 31 FG 4-6 FT 69.
3-point goals — 3 (Faris 2). Fouled out — None. Rebounds — 40 (Dabney 10). Assists — 22 (Payton Busch 8). Steals — 11 (Busch 3, Faris 3, Gonnerman 3). Blocks — 4 (Dabney 4). Total fouls — 11. Turnovers — 17.
Mustang shots come up short
Courier sports staff
BLOOMFIELD — Park Mikels scored 32 points and Calvin Utt had a double-double with 10 points and 10 rebounds, but it wasn’t quite enough Monday as the Davis County boys basketball team suffered a 61-59 non-conference loss to Clark County (Mo.) in action in Bloomfield.
The loss is the third straight for the Mustangs (8-9), who had a few chances to tie or take the lead in the final 20 seconds but simply couldn’t get the shots to fall.
“We had several opportunities to go ahead late,” said Davis County coach Jeff Graves. “They (Clark) missed free throws and we had open shots, we just didn’t get them to go down.”
Damen Dixon had eight points for the Mustangs, while Colton Roberts scored seven points and grabbed seven rebounds. Mikels also cleared seven rebounds, while Dixon and Utt dished three assists each.
Davis County gets back into South Central Conference action tonight, when the Mustangs travel to Albia.
Clark County, Mo. 61, Davis County 59
Clark 19 16 10 16 — 61
Davis 17 12 22 8 — 59
Davis County (59) — Park Mikels 32, Calvin Utt 10, Damen Dixon 8, Colton Roberts 7, McKane Wells 2. Totals 25 8-15 59.
3-point goals — 1 (Utt). Fouled out — Wells. Rebounds — 39 (Utt 10, Roberts 7, Mikels 7). Assists — 9 (Dixon 3, Utt 3). Steals — 1 (Utt). Total fouls — 17.
Sports
January 28, 2013
AREA BOYS BASKETBALL ACTION: Fifth-ranked Centerville trounces Oskaloosa
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