Central edges Westside in exciting contest

Westside threw all it had at Central in the third quarter of their GHSA Region 2-AAA boys basketball showdown Tuesday.

Central had its counterpunch ready. And the Chargers delivered down the stretch, finding their big man inside down the stretch while holding Westside's top scorer in check.

In a game that kept the sold-out crowd at Central entertained the entire way, the Chargers topped the Seminoles 75-72, avenging a 19-point loss early in the season. Central remained tied for first in the loss column with Southwest in the region, with those two teams meeting for the second time this season Saturday afternoon at Southwest.

Kentrevious Jones, Central's 6-foot-10, 265-pound junior, scored 13 of his team-high 24 points in the fourth quarter. Antarius McCoy added 21 as Central, sixth in the Score Atlanta Class AAA rankings, improved to 14-2, 7-1 in region play.

THREE WHO MATTERED

Jones: Central took charge in the fourth quarter once the Chargers started to feed Jones the basketball. While some of his baskets were on putbacks, Jones started getting the ball passed to him more down the stretch. His height began to pay off as Westside got into foul trouble, and he enjoyed an easier path to the basket. He also had 13 rebounds and three blocks.

Khavon Moore: Westside's go-to player missed the first quarter because of a violation of team rules, but he got going quickly after that. He put up 10 points in the second quarter to quiet an early Central run, then a burst in the third quarter, highlighted by a dunk and a spectacular move that led to an open look at the top of the key, keyed a 12-0 run that gave the Seminoles (13-4, 8-2) the lead heading into the final eight minutes. He finished with 26 points and 11 rebounds, playing a good chunk of the fourth with foul trouble before fouling out with 39 seconds to go.

Derrick Evans: After committing to play football at Carson-Newman earlier in the day, the Central guard helped ease the Chargers out of Westside's third-quarter run with a bucket and three free throws in the stretch of a minute in the latter stages of the third quarter. Westside took a 56-47 lead with 2:27 to go, but by the end of the quarter, the Seminoles' lead was down to two points, 60-58. He finished with 14 points and six rebounds.

TURNING POINT

Jones' runner with 3:28 to go gave Central the lead for the first time since Westside's big third-quarter run. The next time down the floor, he drove to the basket, had his shot fall after sitting on the rim for a second on a play that brought the crowd to its feet, and made the ensuing free throw to put the Chargers up 67-62.

OBSERVATIONS

Feed the big fella late: Westside had Jones shut down early on, banging with him inside and blocking shots before they got to him. But the Seminoles couldn't keep that effort up for 32 minutes, and the pressure on Jones diminished as the foul totals climbed. Once Central found a way to get the ball to him inside or clear a path for him to have easy putbacks, the Chargers began to own the paint down the stretch.

Foul woes: Both teams had to grind out the final minute. Central had four players -- three reserves and Jones -- foul out. But Jones' departure, which came with 42 seconds to go and Central up 73-70, was offset three seconds later when Moore fouled out. Dewan Owens made two free throws at that point to put Central up 75-71, and the only scoring Westside managed after that was a single made free throw.

ALSO TUESDAY NIGHT

Central's girls held Westside scoreless in the second quarter as the Chargers rolled to a 59-45 victory. Post player Kamry Hassan led all scorers with 19 points, while Tyleia Williams added 11 points. NiAria Dawson led Westside with 14 points.

THEY SAID IT

Evans on keeping Moore in check in the fourth quarter: "We knew he was in foul trouble, so our players attacked him to get one of their top players out of the game. We just used the advantage of him being in foul trouble and played smart by getting him out of there."

Evans on Jones' fourth-quarter effort: "He stepped up big (Tuesday). He played a great game. He came through second half, a lot of shots (outside) weren't falling, so we got it inside. He wanted it, so we fed him."

Jones on Central's comeback: "We just wanted to win. I told them to get me the ball because I saw that nobody could guard me. We did a little pick-and-roll, we switched, and we had a mismatch. They just couldn't guard me."

Central head coach Andre Taylor on a player who came off the bench to help spark the fourth-quarter comeback: "Tyrice Paul was a big part of that. He came into the game and knew what we wanted to do. We wanted to get (Jones) the ball. We knew we had that advantage. Passing that ball down, (Paul) getting that ball to him was a big plus."

Westside head coach Josh Grube on the foul situation late, aggravated by three second-half technical fouls, including one on himself: "Our rotation was messed up with so many fouls. We've got to do a better of job of keeping our composure, and that starts with me at the top. We've got to clean that up, and I'll take full responsibility on that."

WHAT'S NEXT?

Both teams have dates with Rutland this weekend. Central hosts Rutland on Friday before its big game Saturday at Southwest, while Westside is at Rutland on Saturday.

This story was originally published January 12, 2016 at 11:41 PM with the headline "Central edges Westside in exciting contest ."