Strong second quarter lifts Central to rout

Andre Taylor wasn't thrilled.

He watched his team take some bad shots, not take care of the ball all that well and show some iffy defense.

Of course, his team was up by 25 points at the time.

And Taylor was happy overall after Central took control in the second quarter and kept it in a 77-45 win Wednesday over Josey in a GHSA Class AAA boys first-round game.

The Chargers led 20-13 less than two minutes into the second quarter and held the Eagles to six points the rest of the way. The knockout punch came on a 17-0 run that started with a Kentrevious Jones bucket inside and ended with an Antarius McCoy 3-pointer.

The lead crossed the 30-point mark on two free throws by Derrick Evans Jr. with 4:40 left in the third.

FOUR WHO MATTERED

Evans: The do-it-all senior had 12 points and had five assists and five steals in an overall defensive effort that pleased Taylor.

Jones: He'll cringe at some "bunnies" he missed, but the big junior still managed 13 points and 10 rebounds -- four on the offensive side -- plus three blocks.

Tyrice Paul: While the junior guard had only two points, he made up for that with seven assists against only three turnovers.

Rakwon Iverson: He was second in scoring for the Chargers with 17 points, shared the team lead with seven assists and added three steals.

THE TURNING POINT

It looked like Josey would be able to make it a four-quarter game, or least competitive into the second half, but Central turned it on after a pair of missed free throws by Josey's Donald Jordan at the 5:28 mark of the second quarter. The Chargers' defense crashed the boards and held the Eagles to one-and-done possessions while scoring on seven of eight possessions down the stretch in the second quarter.

OBSERVATION

Nice balance: Central displayed quality inside-outside balance, getting 3s from from four players as well as plenty of points in the paint. A chunk of the 20 turnovers came after the game was in hand, and Central rarely allowed Josey to score on consecutive possessions all night.

WORTH NOTING

Another blowout: Central's fifth win of 30 or more points came in the playoffs and against a team that entered the game with a winning record and went home with its worst loss of the season. It was also the fourth time Josey was held to below 50 and the fifth Central opponent -- and first since Jordan on Jan. 5 -- to score fewer than 50.

THEY SAID IT

McCoy: "It was the first game of the playoffs, so we had to come out and play hard and show that we can win it."

Taylor on what he liked: "I like the way we played together. The way we finished that first half set us uP to sit back and play some more guys in the second half. I was very proud of that."

McCoy on the Chargers' plan: "Play how we normally do. Play hard. ... That was a pretty normal game for us."

Taylor on what scolding will come in practice: "We let up defensively in the second half, and I'm not proud of that. And turnovers that led to points. I told them ever though we're beating somebody to continue to play hard."

Taylor on the best part of the game: "We defended. That's probably one of the better defensive games against a team that has quality athletes, and for us to hold them under 50 points, it's been a long time since we've done that."

WHAT'S NEXT?

Central hosts the Coahulla Creek-Banks County winner Saturday.

This story was originally published February 17, 2016 at 9:46 PM with the headline "Strong second quarter lifts Central to rout ."