WARREN CENTRAL SHOWS ITS DEPTH, VERSATILITY IN 93-65 TRIUMPH
The Warren Central High School boys basketball team needed some time to find itself.
There were new faces, COVID-19 interruptions, anticipated challenges.
And now the Dragons have won five straight, and seven of their last eight games, with the KHSAA 14th District Tournament — to be held at Warren Central — on the horizon.
Senior forward Jaiden Lawrence scored a game-high 21 points and sophomore shooting guard Kade Unseld added 18 as the Dragons rolled to a 91-63 victory over homestanding South Warren on Wednesday night.
“We just had to keep our foot on their neck,” WCHS point guard Izayiah Villafuerte said when it was over.
South Warren guard Ty Price, left, looks for a path to the basket against the Dragons’ Malik Jefferson.
That’s pretty much what the Dragons did, as South Warren could not trim the deficit to single digits in the second half. Warren Central improved to 17-3 overall and 5-2 in 14th District play. The Dragons play host to Louisville Central in a non-district game on Saturday, before returning to their home floor to face district leader Greenwood on Monday night, a makeup game under the COVID-19 protocol.
If Warren Central can knock off Greenwood, there will be a three-way tie atop of the 14th District standings, and the No. 1 seed likely will be determined by two or three flips of a coin.
That’s tight.
“We’ve just got to go play,” Warren Central coach William Unseld said. “I told the guys, ‘Monday doesn’t matter if we don’t take care of business (against South Warren).’ I like playing on my home floor, so we’ll see what happens.”
Warren Central shot nearly 67 percent from the field and kept the Spartans on their heels, defensively. Villafuerte hit five 3-point field goals, finishing with 15 points, off the bench while keeping the Dragons on the attack.
It’s been a tough season for South Warren (11-13 overall, 1-7 in 14th District play), but the Spartans have five non-district games on the schedule before the postseason gets under way later this month.
Freshman guard Ty Price, who can fill it up from almost any spot on the perimeter, and South Warren teammate Andrew Linhardt paced the Spartans with 20 points each.
Warren Central goes eight, nine players deep, and the Dragons took control with a three-quarters court press in the first quarter. Warren Central forced two 10-second calls on the Spartans in the game’s early moments, and the Dragons took a 50-34 lead into the locker room at halftime.
“We’re really deep, and I think we can make another run at the state tournament,” Lawrence said. “We can all shoot the 3, and really, anybody could go out and give us 20 points on a given night. We still feel like we have room to grow, and we need to get better.
“We’ve just got to keep competing in practice.”
William Unseld has seen significant improvement in his team’s half-court defense, but he’s quick to admit the Dragons’ greatest strength is their versatility and ability to dictate the pace.
“We’re going to try to run,” Unseld said. “We’re starting to play better, overall, and we’re getting our legs back. These guys can shoot the ball. They share the ball. We’re long and athletic and we get after it on defense.
“If you’re going to beat us, you’re going to beat us going up and down the floor.”
Junior guard Damarion Walkup had 14 points for the Dragons, and teammate Chappelle Whitney, Warren Central’s leading scorer, finished with 13.
SOUTH WARREN GIRLS 43, WARREN CENTRAL 32 — Senior forward Carrie Enlow hit two 3-pointers from the right corner in the fourth quarter and the Lady Spartans pulled away for a hard-fought victory in the girls game.
Enlow and South Warren teammate Mila Munrath each finished with 12 points as the Lady Spartans improved to 10-15 overall and 4-4 in KHSAA 14th District play. McLaine Hudson, South’s eighth-grade guard, added 10 points.
Senior guard Kaylyn Keener led Warren Central (3-18, 1-7) with 13 points.
