By TOMMY REZAC
St. Joseph Post
The Lafayette boys' basketball team dominated the second half, outscoring Central 36-9 over the final two quarters and soundly defeating the Indians, 63-34, at Lafayette High School on Tuesday night.
The Irish (7-2) pulled away after leading 27-25 at halftime. The Irish won by 29, despite eight lead changes and three ties in the first half.
"I think that's what we can do at any moment in time," Lafayette coach Kevin Bristol said. "That's the product that the coaching staff has envisioned all year long is playing that type of basketball. We have the capability of doing that."
Lafayette outscored Central 16-0 in the third quarter and held the Indians scoreless for the first 9:15 of the second half. The Indians (1-9) took their fourth straight loss in what was their first game in the North Side since 2006.
Lafayette won their second straight overall and improve to 3-0 at home, fresh off of a 3rd place finish at the Neosho Holiday Tournament last week.
"Coming back from Neosho, I think we grew a little bit and matured a little bit down there," Bristol said. "We just protect this house. We take pride in North Side. Growing up, no matter what your record is, if you're playing the city school, it's always going to be the best game."
Junior Camden Bennett was electric, scoring 11 of his game-high 21 points in the first quarter. Senior Drave Davison finished with 18, as he scored 11 of his points in the fourth.
"I think we came out with a lot of intensity after halftime," Davison said. "We made some changes, came out with a lot of intensity in the third quarter and held them scoreless."
Junior Mikey Thomas scored 10 points. Senior Trey Main led Central with 13 points. Freshman Gabe Fields, Jr. had seven.
Lafayette heads to Maryville Thursday, while Central is home to Kearney on Thursday as well.
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