Central boys basketball team bests Dexter 60-45

Senior James Lane broke from tradition and flashed his range during Friday's game against Dexter.

Lane hit midrange jumpers and even a couple in the shadow of the 3-point line. He finished with a game-high 20 points in Central's 60-45 win against the visiting Bearcats.

"I didn't really know I was that far back," Lane said. "I was just shooting. I had the open look, so I took it."

The 6-foot-5 post player even drew some ribbing from teammates over his range.

"He usually by himself shoots 3s during practice," Central senior Andrew Williams said. "He always wants to hit 3s, but he can't. He needs to step one foot in to get shots up. But yeah, he's a good shooter."

Central's Armondo Thatch defends Dexter's Jake Cox during the second quarter Friday. Central pulled away in the second half to post a 60-45 victory. (Kristin Eberts)

The Bearcats had no answer for Lane, who hit 71 percent (10 of 14) of his shots from the field.

"He's developed his shot," Central coach Drew Church said. "He's pretty accurate from 15 to 17 feet and I have confidence in him taking that and he has confidence in him taking that. That makes him a little harder to guard. Him hitting a few of those opened up some things, too."

Church has encouraged Lane to work on his range because Lane doesn't tower over the opposition. But the more he shoots accurately from outside, the tougher he is to defend.

"That's something that can help him play at the next level," Church said about Lane's range. "He's already undersized for a post man, so him developing that can only help him in the future."

Lane scored 14 points in the first half, but Dexter (14-11) kept coming up with answers. Alan Flannigan hit a 3-pointer at the buzzer to pull his team within a point at the end of the first quarter. He hit another jumper at the end of the second quarter to even the score at 27-27 heading to the intermission.

Central's T.J. Tisdell maneuvers toward the basket around Dexter's Alan Flannigan during the first quarter Friday.

"Coach was telling us at halftime we need to come out and play harder, tougher," Williams said. "Just pick up the tempo and start making some shots so we can get a lead. They're a good team. Hitting some big shots gave us momentum and everybody else started hitting too."

Williams answered his coach's challenge by draining three 3-pointers in the first four minutes after the break.

"Once they get more than a two-possession lead on us, they're pretty tough," Dexter coach Rob Nichols said. "He got them off a drive and kick and we shouldn't have left him and he hit them. That's what a good shooter does."

Church said Williams' ability to hit the outside shots disrupted Dexter's defensive strategy.

"We needed kind of an icebreaker," Church said about the second half. "Andrew, he's good at stepping up and hitting big shots. How much they were doubling down and trying to take away our post play really opened up that for Andrew. Then they didn't know what to do and we were able to use our inside game."

Central's Curtis Branch goes in for a layup during the first quarter Friday. The senior finished with 10 points on senior night.

T.J. Tisdell added 10 points in the second half to help the Tigers pull away.

Nichols said the Tigers benefited from his star, Flannigan, getting into early foul trouble. He already had two personal fouls less than four minutes into the game.

"That really affected the way we could guard them because we need him in there offensively," Nichols said. "But at the same time, they did a good job of attacking and knowing he couldn't guard them right there and be real aggressive defensively."

Central (18-5) limited Flannigan's ability to ignite his team's offense. Flannigan, who already signed to play at Division I Lafayette College next season, was held to 16 points, and only five after halftime.

"The second half, we went man on him," Church said. "He kind of hurt us in the first half. At halftime, I just challenged T.J. Tisdell to guard him. We went man and we knew where he'd be and we'd double if we had to. But T.J. just became a man. He was physical with him. He did not allow him to get good shots, and T.J. really came through and played hard and accepted that challenge."

The loss snapped a two-game losing streak for the Tigers on senior night. Church took out his seniors with 30 seconds left in the game, and they were treated to a standing ovation from the Central fans. The Tigers now prepare for Class 5 District 1 play, which they start Wednesday.

"We needed to get some momentum going into districts," Williams said. "Everyone in our district has a chance to win, so we need to come and be tougher than all our opponents and just get it rolling for districts."

The Tigers will face the winner of the Northwest vs. Seckman game, which will be played at 7:30 p.m. Monday.

Dexter 13 14 9 9 -- 45

Central 14 13 17 16 -- 60

DEXTER (45) -- Bryn Hester 2, Tyler Miller 7, Jake Cox 10, Jacob Bollinger 8, Alan Flannigan 16, Chase Young 2. FG 18, FT 3-7, F 12. (3-pointers: Miller 1, Bollinger 1, Flannigan 2, Cox 1. Fouled out: none)

CENTRAL (60) -- Curtis Branch 10, T.J. Tisdell 19, James Lane 20, Andrew Williams 11. FG 27, FT 3-4, F 10. (3-pointers: Williams 3. Fouled out: Zach Boerboom)