Jason Morrow:
Future150 National Editor/ Midwest Recruiting. Covering high and middle school basketball. OH,IN and IL.
Dublin, OH (Future150) -- Although it was not played on a traditional night for basketball, those in attendance at Dublin Jerome on Thursday got their money's worth in a great non-conference game.
The Celtics used a big 17-6 second quarter to open up a double-digit halftime lead on visiting Centennial, and held on down the stretch to knock off the Stars 63-54 on Thursday night. 2016 forward Colton Irion had 13 of his game-high 19 points in a first half that saw Dublin Jerome (4-0, 2-0 OCC-Cardinal) lead by 14 at halftime. The Stars were led by 2015 forward Joe Thomas, who had a team-high 18 points and five rebounds in the loss.
Thomas and Centennial (1-4, 1-2 City League North) gave Jerome all kinds of trouble in the opening quarter, using their pressure defense to force turnovers and quick run-outs for buckets. The lead flipped back and forth in that opening frame, and Jerome would eventually take a 17-14 lead after eight minutes of action. 2016 guard Seve Stavroff would help spark a change for the Celtics, flipping the pressure back onto the Stars, holding them to just three field goals in the following quarter.
As mentioned above, that second quarter was all Jerome, and as the teams headed to the locker room it seemed as if the Celtics were going to run away and dominate the game. Much like a week when Jerome trailed big at half to Hilliard Bradley, there was no sitting on the lead to be had on Thursday. Despite giving up the first four points of the second half, Thomas and the Stars fought back with a vengeance, and a 10-2 run cut the margin back to just ten points. That run would actually swell to 19-7 by the third quarter was finished, and Centennial had cut the gap to just six.
2016 guard Jaylon Smith was a big spark late in the run, as his slashing bucket to end the third quarter and opening field goal of the final quarter had pushed Jerome's backs to the walls. Smith did a little bit of everything, finishing with six points, four assists, two rebounds, and two steals.
A majority of the fourth quarter was played within a six-point margin, but Centennial never could make the one momentum-changing play to get the lead. 2016 guard Mason Baich picked up the scoring where Irion left off, putting up 10 of his 13 points in the fourth quarter, including an emphatic dunk with 3:39 left that gave Jerome a double-digit cushion once again at 55-45.
Senior Anthony Slappy and the Stars would not give up however. The 2016 guard's energy after Baich's dunk kept Centennial around, including a three with 1:28 left to chop the margin down to six once more, before the ensuing free-throw battle favored the Celtics.
| Centennial | 14 | 6 | 19 | 15 | 54 |
| Dublin Jerome | 17 | 17 | 11 | 18 | 63 |
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