Central girls handle Columbus, boys outlast Northside

The Central boys and girls basketball teams made the most of their matchups in the second day of the William H. Shaw Christmas Tournament in Columbus.

The Red Devils and Lady Red Devils got the upper hand on their Muscogee County opponents on Thursday. The Lady Red Devils topped Columbus 53-35, and the Red Devils followed with an 80-71 victory over Northside.

Though it was the second of the two games, the Central boys’ showdown with the Patriots looked destined to come down to the wire.

Central boys coach Bobby Wright said his scouting report showed Northside struggles shooting from 3-point range, but that was far from the case in the first quarter. The Red Devils were forced to score quickly to keep up with an insane shooting run from Northside, which hit six 3-pointers in the opening eight minutes. Jha’Quez Anderson did the most damage in that streak, scoring nine points from behind the arc in the first.

The two teams ended the first quarter tied 20-20, and the back-and-forth drama carried over into the second quarter. They headed to halftime tied 41-41, and the break gave Wright and his players a needed moment to readjust.

“We played soft defensively (in the first half), and what happened? They probably had the best night ever had shooting 3s,” Wright said. “We came back in at halftime and decided to go back to our regular defense, which is playing aggressive, getting in their faces and making them take tough shots.”

The change in strategy seemed to leave the Patriots shell shocked, as their 3-point frenzy all but died out in the third. Meanwhile, Central forward Tremere Brown went to work in the paint, tormenting the Patriots to help the Red Devils quietly build a lead.

Within the first three minutes of the fourth quarter, the Red Devils had put the game away. Brown delivered what was ultimately the final blow, finishing off an alley oop served up by Adrian Jackson to make it a 68-57 contest.

Northside tried to claw its way back in the final minutes, but its own mistakes on offense doomed its chances. Chance Hatcher hit the Patriots’ only 3-pointer of the second half with 43 seconds to go, but by that time the game was too far out of reach.

Brown led all scorers with 25 points. He also posted a game-high 18 rebounds in the victory.

“He can be very productive,” Wright said of Brown. “He’s one of the big guys in the Bi-City. He’s young and he’s got a lot to learn, but he’s willing to work. There are some fundamental things we need to clean up, but other than that, I’m proud he’s on my team.”

Like their male counterparts, the Central girls team toyed around with their opponent before finally pulling away when it mattered.

The Lady Red Devils took little issue early on with Columbus having the size advantage, as Central jumped out to a 13-6 lead. However, the Lady Red Devils tried to take on the Lady Blue Devils in the paint more in the second quarter, a fight Columbus won more than once. As a result, the game was tied 20-20 at the half.

After a sluggish start out of the gate in the second half, Central girls coach Carolyn Wright called a timeout and laid down the law with her players.

“When you have an offense, you have to let your offense work for you,” Wright said after the game. “We’ve got eight things we do off that one play, and then if one thing doesn’t work you’re going to change it? Just run your offense all the way through. I said, ‘If you can’t do it, sit down and I’ll let somebody else do it.’ They said, ‘We’ve got it, Coach. We’ve got it.’”

Wright’s message lit a fire under her players, who turned on the offense and left Columbus in a 38-26 hole headed to the fourth. The Lady Red Devils never looked back from their en route to an 18-point victory.

Four Central players had at least five points in the win, including Kayla Davis, who had a team-high 10 points. Ambreanna Horace led the Red Devils in rebounding with 9 in the victory.

It’s still early in the new season, but the Lady Red Devils have passed their coach’s eye test up to this point.

“I am so proud of them,” Wright said. “This is the hardest-playing team that I’ve ever coached. They just never quit, they’re always trying to get the ball and they’re always playing defense for me. They play with heart and desire.”

This story was originally published December 21, 2017 at 11:59 PM with the headline "Central girls handle Columbus, boys outlast Northside."