Raiders beat Tigers by 31

COLUMBUS -- It was a tale of two halves.

After coming out and dropping 60 points on Doane College JV Friday night at the Raider Fieldhouse, the Central Community College men’s basketball team began the second half without its aggressive attitude on defense, allowing 47 points to the Tigers in a 107-76 victory.

“We took our foot off the gas, no doubt about it. As a coach I want us to click on all cylinders all the time,” Central coach Damon Vogt said. “We had some different rotations in and tried to work some things out, and we didnt make some plays we should.”

It is hard to not be happy with a 31-point win, but the Raiders played were in a rhythm in the first half, and their second half play left something to be desired.

“Defensively, this game is something we can control, and we gave up a little too much,” Vogt said.

The first half began in typical fashion for Central, with the team building a 31-point halftime lead behind a stout defense and quick transition game. Sophomore Donald Jones had 19 of his game-high 25 points in the first half, as he and fellow sophomore Shavontae Samuels did what they do best: run the court.

Jones and Samuels used their speed to consistently beat the Tigers to the offensive end, as every defensive rebound the Raiders ripped down was quickly turned into an odd-man advantage for Central.

“Donald and Shavontae were very good in the first half keying the break,” Vogt said. “Shavontae is making some good decisions while pushing the tempo.”

Another key in the first half was the play of Taylor Murren off the bench. With Samuels and Jones slashing through Doane’s defense, Murren found plenty of room on the perimeter, where he knocked down four 3-pointers �” three in the first half.

“Taylor Murren really stepped up and hit some 3s, and that was opened up by our dribble penetration,” Vogt said.

Going into halftime, it appeared the Raiders had a firm hold on the Tigers, but Doane came out with fire in the second half.

Starting with a 13-3 run, the Tigers clawed back within 21 points, as the momentum began to shift away from Central. After calling a timeout, the Raiders went back to their original game plan of going inside ans using their height �” something they didn’t need in the first half due to their transition game.

“One of the things I was disappointed in, we wanted to pound the ball inside. We felt like we had a mismatch all game,” Vogt said. “In the second half we were able to isolate Lorenzo Wilson and get him some buckets.”

Wilson had 10 points in the game, but six of which came during a key 3-minute span early in the second half. With Doane raining 3s on offense, Central needed to make sure it countered on the other end, and Wilson’s presence in the middle was imperative.

Defensively, while the Raiders did fall short in the second half, two players stood out. Steville Burns was given the tough assignment of guarding the Tigers’ Eric Mencl, who led his squad with 23 points. After scoring 12 points in the first half, Mencl was held to seven points for most of the second before scoring a few buckets late, and Burns had a big part in keeping him silent.

“Steville was known as being one of the best defenders in the metro, and he is able to shut people down,” Vogt said. “He did a great job out there, you could see him hustling.”

Jay Battle also played well inside with five blocks in the contest. Throw in another five or six altered shots, and the sophomore forward is a menace for the opposition inside.

“You always expect him to get five or six blocks. He alters a lot of shots as well, and he is special for us defensively. He always seems to be there, whether he is guarding someone in the lane or on help side, he is around the basket.”

Samuels scored 18 points and added nine assists, while Battle had nine. Jacob Woslager came off the bench to score eight, as did Burns. Wilson led the team with nine rebounds and Battle had eight.

The win puts the Raiders back over .500 with a 4-3 record. Trying out several players at new positions, Vogt was happy to have the chance to test new roatations now, and not later in the season.

“It’s better to find out now whether some players can play other spots or not, as opposed to in a big game when you need everyone at their best,” he said.

Up next for Central is the Western Nebraska Classic Friday and Saturday. The Raiders will play Eastern Wyoming at 4 p.m. Friday and Western Nebraska at 7 p.m. Saturday.

Doane College JV 29 47 -- 76

Central CC (4-3) 60 47 -- 107

# DOANE JV -- Tanner Wiles 1 0-0 1 3, Jordan Pieper 0 0-0 0 0, Rich Estrada 3 0-0 0 7, Matt Ramirez 0 0-0 0 0, Joe Daniel 0 0-0 0 0, Darin Cheney 4 0-1 1 11, Dalen Hall 3 0-0 0 7, Micah Marvin 3 1-2 3 9, Adam Finley 0 0-0 0 0, Eric Mencl 6 9-11 0 23, Jared Schwab 2 0-0 2 4, Chris Davey 1 0-0 1 2, John Gaschler 1 0-0 0 2, Brandon Boyd 0 0-0 0 0, Todd Wlniak 3 2-3 1 8. Totals 26 14-20 11 76.

# CENTRAL CC -- Jacob Woslager 3 2-2 2 8, Taylor Murren 4 0-0 2 12, Steville Burns 4 0-0 1 8, Donald Jones 8 9-11 1 25, Shavontae Samuels 8 0-0 2 18, Jay Battle 4 1-4 2 9, Lorenzo Wilson 5 0-0 1 10, Ian Sitz 3 0-0 2 6, Chappell Adams 0 0-0 0 0, Skylar Douglas 0 0-0 0 0, George Thompson 1 0-0 0 3, Erfan Momeni 3 0-0 0 6, Trent Ptacek 1 0-0 0 2, Devontai Dotson 0 0-0 0 0. Totals 42 12-17 11 107.

# 3-point field goals -- Doane JV 10 (Cheney 3, Marvin 2, Mencl 2, Hall, Estrada), Central 7 (Murren 4, Samuels 2, Thompson).