HAGERSTOWN, Ind. – Composure was the key.
“I feel amazing,” said Centerville’s Justin DuPree, after the Bulldogs defeated Northeastern 45-42 to win the Wayne County Tournament for the first time since 2012.
“It was my first time ever winning one and my first time beating Northeastern,” DuPree said. “We knew we were up. We needed to slow down and stop trying to force things.”
Centerville’s win ended Northeastern’s four-year title run along with it’s 48-game winning streak against Tri-Eastern Conference schools.
“They came out ready to win this championship,” Northeastern Head Coach Brent Ross said.
“Our kids were waiting for them to implode and not play very well, but they played well the whole game,” Ross added. “They executed a lot better than we did.”
Centerville never trailed as the Bulldogs led 14-6 at the end of the first period and then 27-16 at halftime.
“We’ve handled their pressure before,” Centerville Head Coach Seve Beach said. “That was the biggest thing. Our kids were really frustrated that we came up short in December.”
The Knights beat Centerville 49-23 for their 11th straight win over the Bulldogs on Dec. 1.
“They were hungry,” Beach said of his squad. “We did a very good job of staying composed.”
The Bulldogs were able to add to their lead after three to make it 37-25.
“We were really ready mentally,” Beach said. “They are so good at their pressure. We did a much better job of coming to the ball and shortening our passes.”
But the Knights, who still have a 30-game winning streak in league play, were not going away.
Jalen Hillard led the Knights back in the final period as he scored points in a row to close the gap to 39-35 with 1:18 remaining.
The Bulldogs were able to maintain their advantage the rest of the way.
“I would rather have it happen now and hope that it doesn’t happen again,” Ross said of the loss. “We haven’t had anybody spread us out. We had to work extra hard at times.”
DuPree led the Bulldogs with 15 points and 12 rebounds.
Michael Brewer tossed in eight points, while Dante Torres added six and Tommy Fordonski had five.
Freeman Brou led the Knights with 13 points and 11 rebounds.
Hillard finished had 10 points with eight coming in the final stanza.
Cole Mikesell had six points and Kolden Vanlandingham had five.
Both teams are back on the court Friday night as Centerville (5-7) travels to Knightstown (5-6) and Northeastern (7-5) entertains Muncie Burris (1-9).