NEW CASTLE
Twice during Warren Central’s 40-game winning streak, Center Grove has forced the Warriors to work overtime.
Each time, the Trojans came away lamenting a potential victory that got away.
Isiah Moore hit a game-tying 3-pointer late in regulation, then knocked down a pullup jumper in the lane with 0.8 seconds left in the extra period to help the top-ranked Warriors pull out a 52-50 thriller in the championship game of the Hall of Fame Classic on Saturday night.
With a final chance, Center Grove freshman Tayven Jackson delivered a perfect three-quarter-court pass to Trayce Jackson-Davis, but the senior’s jumper from the right elbow just missed the mark at the horn.
“I jumped a little bit, because I thought (the defender) was under me,” Jackson-Davis said, “so I shot it up here so I didn’t really get a chance to fling it. But it’s okay; it happens.”
Center Grove (9-3) came out swinging, using a suffocating defense and a hot start from Trayce Jackson-Davis to take an early 12-2 lead. Jackson-Davis had 12 of his game-high 23 points in the opening quarter, along with a pair of steals.
The Trojan lead was still 10 early in the second period before Warren Central’s Jameson Smith started to heat up. The senior guard hit four first-half 3s, including three in a span of 2:14 to get the Warriors within one, 22-21, with 3:56 to go in the half.
Six consecutive points in the opening minutes of the third quarter gave Warren Central its first lead of the night, 33-30. Cam Petty fed Jackson-Davis for a baseline jam to slow the bleeding, but the Warriors still went into the final period with a 39-36 edge.
The Trojans scored seven straight points and reclaimed the upper hand, 43-42, on a Spencer Piercefield 3-pointer with 4:02 remaining. Manny Brown answered with a conventional three-point play at the other end to put the Warriors back up, but Piercefield connected again at the 2:37 mark.
Warren Central then held the ball into the final minute, but Jackson-Davis swatted away a Jakobie Robinson shot and it went out of bounds off a Warrior player with 33 seconds left. Jackson-Davis slammed it home at the other end to make it 48-45, but Moore coolly responded, nailing a clutch 3-pointer at the other end with 12.3 seconds on the clock.
While disappointed with the end result, Jackson-Davis says his team can come away with some more confidence after taking the state’s top team to the wire.
“It just means that we can compete with anyone,” he said. “We’ve just got to play with that energy for the rest of the season.”
The Trojans advanced to the final by edging Class 2A No. 2 Westview in the opening round, 48-43. Fourth-quarter 3-pointers from Piercefield and Justin DeGraaf helped the Trojans take control of a back-and-forth affair down the stretch.
Jackson-Davis, Piercefield and Ben Nicoson each had 11 points in the semifinal victory.
