Eastside will need to be making more room for a banner in its gym. The Eastside Bulldogs made sure to finish off their season with a bang Tuesday night on their home court.
The Bulldogs topped Centertown 28-21 in the District 2 postseason tournament finals, completing a perfect 10-0 run in D2 matchups this season. Eastside played for the county championship Thursday, but scores were unavailable at press time (see Sunday’s issue for more information).
Jaxson Gribble broke loose in the title, earning MVP honors after scoring a game-high 14 points for Eastside in the championship. Lucas Baxter, the league’s leading scorer all season, added five points as the Bulldogs were able to hold off a major challenge from Centertown in the finals.
The Warriors, who got six points each from Waylon Duggin and Rawley Gilispie, were just 2-4 during the regular season in D2 games, but found some momentum in the postseason. Centertown was able to hold off Morrison 20-18 in the semifinals and came out Tuesday hoping to bring the fight in the finals against the league’s lone unbeaten team.
A slow start from the Warriors made it look like the Bulldogs were on their way to another blowout, but Duggin kept Centertown close by knocking down two triples in the first half. Duggin’s first long-distance dialup was his team’s lone points when the Warriors fell behind 11-3 by the first break, but Centertown started clawing back when he drained another 3-pointer to start the second quarter.
Gribble had a 3-pointer of his own before halftime, igniting a hot hand he would carry the rest of the way. Gribble nailed two more triples after the break, helping push Eastside ahead 24-14 by the start of the fourth quarter.
Centertown made its final charge in the last six minutes, getting buckets off the bench from Knox Underhill, Liam Morris and Raylan Herman to get the Warrior faithful on their feet. Maks Young and Tayshawn Cummings halted the comeback though, knocking down key shots down the stretch as Eastside finished off a sweep of the preseason, regular season and postseason titles this year.
Young finished the matchup with four points, while James Mietling added three for the champs. Cayden Pack hit a free throw in the fourth quarter to wrap up Centertown’s scoring.
