The Warriors caged the Bulldogs, even though they barked and growled their way into Centertown. The Warriors outscored the Bulldogs in all four quarters and gave Centertown the 40-26 win over Eastside.
Centertown’s Nathan Lemons led all scorers with a game-high 21 points. Lemons dropped in 12 of his 21 points in the first quarter.
Lemons took the Warriors on his back in the first quarter and carried them. He scored all 12 points for Centertown.
The potent offense from Eastside got down early and was not able to keep pace with Lemons and the Warriors. Christian Rogers dropped in four points and Treyton Terry found the basket for two of his five-point total.
The Bulldogs adjusted their defense accordingly in the second period and Lemons gave the ball to his teammates. Isaiah Pollard and Blake Adams scored four points while Aiden Miller added a basket and a free throw. At the half, Centertown led Eastside 22-13.
It was more of the same in the third and Eastside started to close the gap. Darren Earls scored four of his six in the second half. Rogers banged down low with the Warriors and cleaned up the rebounds for four more points.
Pollard and Lemons combined for eight points in the third quarter to keep the Warriors in the lead.
Eastside trailed 32-21 and four separate Warriors scored in the final period to cement the win. Eastside was out of options and the Warriors continued to find ways to the basket. Easton West added a free throw before time expired on the Bulldogs.
It was all run-and-gun offense and the Warriors went on the warpath and defeated the Bulldogs by a final score of 40-26.
Warrior scoring – Nathan Lemons 21, Isaiah Pollard 8, Aiden Miller 5, Blake Adams 4, Riley Morton 2
Bulldog scoring – Cristian Rogers 12, Darren Earls 6, Treyton Terry 5, Caden Beaty 2, Easton West 1