For a couple of weeks in late January, the Center Grove boys basketball team was struggling to hang on to fourth-quarter leads.
The Trojans seem to have figured it out.
Trayce Jackson-Davis scored a game-high 30 points and Center Grove kept visiting North Central at arm’s length down the stretch for a 78-67 victory Friday night.
[sc:text-divider text-divider-title=”Story continues below gallery” ]
Since dropping three of four over a span of two weeks, squandering late leads in all three, the Trojans (15-5, 4-3 MIC) have won three straight.
“We’re starting to knock down free throws and we’re starting to take away tendencies of players,” Jackson-Davis said, “and that’s really helped us start pushing and expanding the lead in games.”
Center Grove hit 22 of 27 free throws Friday, with Jackson-Davis making 12 of 16.
Both teams had it going offensively from the opening tip, with the Trojans hitting six 3-pointers in the first quarter while staking themselves to a 27-23 lead. Spencer Piercefield connected on his first four long-range attempts during the period.
The pace slowed at the start of the second quarter, with Center Grove clinging to a 31-30 edge at the 3:26 mark. But Ben Nicoson then hit a 3, and after Jackson-Davis scored seven straight points, Nicoson knocked down another deep ball in the final seconds of the half to make it 44-34.
The Trojans made 10 shots from beyond the arc overall.
“Things are starting to fall right now for some of our guys,” Center Grove coach Zach Hahn said, “and when you do that, it really puts teams on their heels. If you can get stops, it makes you a very dangerous team come tournament time.”
North Central used a 7-0 run early in the third to cut the deficit to 50-41 before Piercefield fed Noah Gillard for a three-point play to restore order with 3:03 to go in the quarter.
Nine points was as close as the Panthers could get the rest of the way despite opening the fourth with back-to-back 3-pointers. Piercefield hit his fifth trey with 5:38 remaining and Jackson-Davis scored 12 points in the period, including a pair of dunks in the closing minutes to punctuate the win.
“His post moves were very patient tonight,” Hahn said of Jackson-Davis, “and when he does that and he gets control of his body, he scores a lot around the rim.”
Piercefield finished with 17 points for the Trojans. Nicoson had 12, while Gillard added 11 starting for the injured Joey Klaasen.
At halftime, Center Grove honored junior Erica Shepherd, one of the nation’s top young golfers and the winner of the U.S. Girls’ Junior Championship last summer.
