With the victory, Centerville (14-8, 9-3) secures second place in the Greater Western Ohio Conference National East Division alone. Wayne drops to 14-8, 7-5.
“They’re always really good and these are the kinds of teams you want to compete with on a regular basis,” Centerville head coach Brook Cupps said. “I’m happy for our seniors. Quite a game to remember. We played well.”
“It’s hard to beat them,” Centerville senior Keegan Saben said. “What an incredible way to send the seniors out. We’re all ecstatic.”
Saben, a West Liberty recruit, was masterful in his home finale. He scored a game-high 27 points and had 22 of the Elks first 32.
Centerville needed them all.
“He was really good and that’s what we need from him,” Cupps said. “It was great to see him knocking shots down.”
“I just came out feeling it,” Saben said. “My teammates found me with the ball and I was playing aggressive. That’s what I need to do. I had a good rhythm and I kept going.”
Wayne held only two leads, one of which was 12-11 after the first quarter.
Centerville opened the second quarter on a 9-0 run and took it’s largest lead of the first half (20-12). Wayne responded with an 11-2 run of its own to take a 23-22 lead. Jevon Henderson’s basket with 10 seconds left before half gave the Elks a 24-23 advantage at the break.
Centerville again opened the third quarter with an 8-1 run to take a 32-24 lead only to watch Wayne storm back to close within 34-33 with 52 seconds left in the third quarter. A huge 3-pointer from Alex Grandin pushed the Elks advantage to 37-33 at quarter’s end.
Centerville opened up its largest lead (46-35) with 4:47 to pay on a 3-pointer by Sam Gash.
Having scored just 35 points through three and half quarters, the Warriors posted 18 in the final four minutes.
It wasn’t enough.
The Elks connected on 5 of 8 free throws in the final 70 seconds to secure the win.
Henderson added 10 points for Centerville, while Ray James led Wayne with 14. Isaiah Trice and Darius Quisenberry each had 11 for the Warriors. Trice missed a potential game-tying 3-pointer at the buzzer.
Both teams had notable scoring droughts.
The Warriors went a six-minute span in the first and second quarters without scoring a point and managed just five in the first four minutes of the third and fourth quarters combined.
Centerville managed just 11 points in the final four minutes of the first, second and third quarters combined.
Both teams now turn their attention towards the Division I postseason.
“We’ll celebrate this for one day,” Saben said. “We have to get back to work for the playoffs now.”
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