By TOMMY REZAC
St. Joseph Post
The St. Joseph Central girls' basketball team got off to a 13-2 start, led by as many as 21 in the fourth quarter and settled for a 65-56 win over Lafayette at Civic Arena in the inaugural St. Joseph Area Sports Hall of Fame Holiday Hoops Classic on Wednesday.
Lafayette (4-5) got down early, but reeled off a 10-2 run in the first half, and the Irish only trailed 33-27 at halftime.
The Indians (5-5) had a 21-6 run in the second half to go up 59-39 with 3:02 remaining.
With Central sitting a number of their starters, Lafayette's starters stayed in and made a late push, getting back to within single digits, but the Irish simply ran out of time.
Central saw three seniors finish in double figures. Senior Charlie Broaden, even though she fouled out in the fourth quarter, had a game-high 19 points. Her twin sister, Teegan, scored 18. Senior Lauren Wells logged 13.
Junior Honor Mannings led Lafayette with 16 points. Senior Jazlyn King had 15, while senior Modesta Wilhelmson scored 10.
Lafayette knocked down eight three-pointers in the loss. The Irish take part in the Neosho Holiday Classic on Dec. 28. The Central girls will be at the Rolla Oral Surgery Holiday Tournament on Dec. 27.
Lafayette boys survive back-and-forth tilt against Central
St. Joseph Central started red hot Wednesday, making four first quarter threes to grab a 14-6 lead early on.
Lafayette slowly reeled off a 9-0 run to grab a one-point lead early in the second, and the game pretty much stayed that close for the rest of the night.
In a thrilling game that featured six ties and six lead changes, the Irish (4-2) survived to beat Central 52-50 at Civic Arena Wednesday night.
It was the Indians (4-5) who led 26-23 at the break after sophomore Marquel Mayfield drained a buzzer beater three-pointer just before the end of the first half.
Central led by as many as five in the second half, but trailed by four entering the fourth quarter.
The Indians, who made eight threes in the loss, got a huge triple from sophomore Gabe Fields to tie the game at 50 with about 30 seconds left.
Lafayette had the answer the other way, as senior George Galloway's layup with about 15 seconds left put the Irish up 52-50.
The game was far from over at that point. On the next possession, Fields was fouled and got to shoot a pair of free throws. He missed both, but Lafayette lost the ball out of bounds on a rebound attempt.
With still 5.7 seconds remaining, Central had two more shots at the end. Fields missed what would have been a winning three. Junior Shadai Ndamboma just missed a tying layup under the rim on an offensive board, and the Irish survived.
Senior Camden Bennett led Lafayette with a game-high 18 points. He was a perfect 9-for-9 at the free throw line. Senior Mikey Thomas scored 12.
Fields led Central with 15. Senior Stone Wetlaufer had 11 points - all in the second half.
The Lafayette boys head to the Neosho Holiday Classic on Dec. 28. The Central boys are home to host Warrenton on Dec. 28 as well.
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