Close contests in boys’ hoops action-Centertown holds on to clip Dibrell

The home finale for the Centertown seventh- and eighth-grade boys came down to the wire Monday night, but in the end the Warriors were left celebrating, as they held on to take a narrow 27-24 win over Dibrell.

Ahead 17-10 by the end of the first half, the Warriors struggled to contain Dibrell’s Kris Callender, who pulled his team back into the contest with eight third-quarter points, trimming the gap to 19-18 entering the final six minutes of play.

Centertown righted its ship somewhat in the opening moments of the third, taking a 25-20 lead, but Callender and Kevin Flatt brought the Wildcats back within a possession with a three-point run.

Callender, who was helped off the floor after taking a hard fall midway through the fourth quarter, limped back into play to try and help his team pull off the rally. But he was whistled for his fifth foul shortly thereafter, giving the Warriors the chance to pull away at the free-throw line.

Centertown failed to connect on any of its seven attempts from the charity stripe in the fourth quarter, including six in the final minute of play. That inaccuracy allowed Dibrell to pull within one with 14 ticks left, as Jonathan Thatch ‘ who had come on in place of Callender ‘ hit one of two from the line to cut the score to 25-24.

But Centertown nailed down the victory with five seconds left, when Coty Orrick crashed the boards and put back a Tucker Smith miss for what would prove to be the final basket of the game.

Centertown had led 9-4 after a quarter, with Orrick burying a 3-pointer in the closing seconds of the period, and out-scored its guests in the second to carry a seven-point lead into halftime.

Jacob Self’s eight points led a balanced Warrior scoring attack, which included seven points from Orrick, four each from Blake Carter and Noah Couch, and two apiece from Drew Tanner and Scott Reed.

For the Wildcats, Callender led all scorers with 16 points, with Jordan Gribble adding four. Cory Prince chipped in two, while Kevin Flatt and Thatch had a free throw each.