LA CROSSE — They found paths to the basket and launched shots from behind the 3-point line.
Everything was falling through the net.
Junior Anthony Jones made four of them, and juniors Gabe Servais and Will Schilling made two each. Junior Ezra Wiese and sophomore Jorden Calvert each made one.
The Central High School boys basketball team made its first 10 shots during a game between state-ranked teams at the Reinhart Athletic Center, but the performance didn’t produce a big lead.
That’s because Aquinas made 9 of its first 11 shots.
The pace was fast, and the points were piling up with second place in the MVC on the line.
The RiverHawks (18-3, 10-2 MVC) — ranked eighth in Division 2 by the Bound Wisconsin/Zaleski Sports media poll — rode a 29-point scoring performance from junior Anthony Jones to pull away from the Blugolds (18-4, 8-3) — ranked sixth in Division 3 — for a 61-50 victory.
The outcome eliminated Aquinas from title contention and left Central needing an Onalaska (18-3, 10-1) loss to Tomah (11-11, 4-7) on Thursday to get a share of the championship.
Jones set the tone with his ability to get into the lane, Servais knocked down two early 3-pointers, and the RiverHawks held Aquinas junior Calvin Bahr and senior Finley Strom, who combine to score 34 points per game, to a combined 15.
“What a great high school game,” Central coach Todd Fergot said. “I was sitting there, and I’ve coached a lot of games over the years, but this was a fun game to watch.
“It’s a credit to Aquinas and how well they prepared and how well they played. And our kids being able to respond to that.”
The insane shooting early didn’t allow one team to pull away. Aquinas senior Logan Becker knocked down a 3-pointer to get the Blugolds within 26-23 with 8 minutes, 4 seconds remaining in the first half.
The RiverHawks had been up by as many as 12 and despite making 11 of their first 13 shots, led by three points.
But a defensive performance that made good shots harder for Aquinas to find as the game progressed ended up making the difference. Bahr, who averages 20.1 points per game, was limited to two three-point plays and six points on five shots. Strom, who averages 13.9, was held to nine points.
Becker scored a team-high 14, but the Blugolds couldn’t put together a run in the second half. A six-point halftime deficit was cut to five on two occasions, but Aquinas couldn’t get any closer.
Central beat Aquinas 74-52 in the first meeting of the season, but Jones said he and his teammates wanted to build on that Friday.
“In the first game, we played alright, but I don’t think we played with enough intensity,” he said. “This game was a lot different, and we wanted to stick them on their own court.”
Jorden Calvert recorded Central’s final field goal, and it gave the RiverHawks a 52-44 lead with 3:01 left.
Central made 8 of 16 free throws from there, but Calvert had a big offensive rebound after one bonus attempt was missed, and Jones to to the ball and threw it off an Aquinas player to keep possession after another was missed.
Jones has averaged 22.7 points over his past three games and made 20 of 32 shots in the past two.
“He has gotten significantly better,” Fergot said of Jones. “I think he has really matured.
“I see him doing the right things not only on the court but off the court, too.
“Where he started to where he is now … that’s fun helping those guys sometimes achieve even more than they think they can.”
