First-quarter run propels Cardinals

COLUMBUS - A little scoring spurt went a long way for the Boone Central boys basketball team Tuesday.

The Cardinals scored five points during the final minute of the first quarter to tie the game at 14. Boone Central rode the momentum to a 13-point halftime lead and a 65-55 victory in the semifinals of the Class C1-6 subdistrict tournament at the Columbus High School gym.

“We were concerned that we weren't tracing the ball and didn't have our hands up on defense. We looked a step slow, and we weren't rebounding,” Boone Central coach Chuck Perone said. “We just said step it up. We really did, and that propelled us into the second quarter.”

The Cardinals' victory sets up a rematch Thursday between Boone Central and Central City. On Feb. 10, the Bison escaped with a one-point victory on their home court against Boone Central. Tip-off for the subdistrict final is set for 7:30 p.m. on Thursday.

The Vikings (8-12) led 14-9 after Jared Barjenbruch connected on a 3-pointer, which prompted Perone to call a timeout.

On the ensuing possession, Boone Central's Ryan Wells grabbed an offensive rebound and was fouled for a three-point play. Anthony Michael added another bucket as he made a layup with 12 seconds left in the period.

“We were a little nervous. Sometimes when you are nervous it affects both sides of the court,” Perone said. “We were just a little bit off our game in the first few minutes.”

Lakeview coach Jake Shadley said the mini-run lingered with them for a while.

“It put us back on our heels a little bit,” he said. “We were back on our heels on both ends of the floor. I think we played a little scared for a six-minute stretch.”

Boone Central extended its scoring streak to 11-0 in the second period before Lakeview added to its total. The Vikings cut the deficit to 25-24, but Boone Central closed out the quarter strong again with the final 12 points.

The Cardinals' big four scored all of the points during the second period. Each of the four players scored in double figures, led by 14 points from Kraig Flanagan and Brent Dawson. Ryan Shotkoski added 13, while Anthony Michael recorded 12 points.

Lakeview's offense sputtered at times because of turnovers and struggles from the perimeter. The Vikings committed 20 turnovers in the game, including seven during the third period, and made just three of their 18 3-point shots.

“I'm a little disappointed we got away from our inside game, but it got to the points we almost had to (shoot more 3-pointers) because of what the score was,” Shadley said.

The Vikings tried to rally in the fourth quarter behind 13 points from Michael Purcell, but never got closer than eight points. Purcell finished with a game-high 23 points. Jordan Paben added 10 for Lakeview, while Chase Kapels grabbed 15 rebounds. Those three will all return next year as the Vikings lose just one player - Lance Mueller - to graduation.

“Lance was a big part of things for us coming off the bench, but we've got seven or eight guys that got a lot of quality experience this year,” Shadley said. “Plus we got a decent freshman class coming up. We're going to have quality guys coming back with experience and younger guys coming up that are going to push people and that helps too.”

Lakeview (8-12) 14 10 9 22 - 55

Boone Central (14-7) 14 23 11 17 - 65

n Lakeview-Lance Mueller 1-2 0-0 3 2, Chase Kapels 0-5 0-4 2 0, Michael Purcell 8-15 6-10 2 23, Jordan Paben 3-8 3-4 4 10, Jared Barjenbruch 1-10 0-0 1 3, Wes Loseke 3-4 1-1 2 7, Wesley Luedtke 1-2 0-0 2 2, Andrew Stegman 3-3 2-2 4 8. Totals 20-49 12-21 20 55.

n Boone Central-Ryan Shotkoski 4-11 3-4 2 13, Kraig Flanagan 4-7 6-8 4 14, Brent Dawson 5-8 4-6 1 14, Jordan Temme 2-3 2-4 1 6, Zach Zoucha 0-0 1-2 1 1, Anthony Michael 5-13 2-2 2 12, Andy Brugman 1-4 0-0 3 2, Ryan Wells 1-1 1-1 2 3. Totals 22-47 19-27 16 65.

n 3-point goals-Lakeview 3 (Purcell, Paben, Barjenbruch), Boone Central 2 (Shotkoski 2).