In a game that featured more ebbs and flows than an entire season of The Walking Dead, the Central Bulldogs found themselves more alive than ever when the final buzzer sounded on Friday – nabbing a wild 52-47 victory over visiting Branson.
Both clubs grabbed leads in separate junctures of the game that seemingly acted as catalysts for a sure-fire win, but in the end, it was the Bulldogs who constructed one last run after being down by five going into the final quarter.
The win comes as a much-needed change of pace for head coach Armando Johnson’s team after a recent stretch of subpar basketball.
“We had been struggling as of late,” Johnson said after the win. “I kind of saw a lot of good things, and today, the kids put it together. They stayed strong, they were patient and made a lot of good plays.”
Central (4-10) busted out to a 23-11 lead at the 4:34 mark of the second period, but three straight turnovers by the Bulldogs sparked Branson (6-7) to claw back within two points at halftime.
At the start of the third, Central apparently righted the ship once more – rolling off an 8-0 run to go up by 12 just under two minutes into the quarter, but a rather unorthodox technical foul called on Johnson sparked new life for the Pirates.
While filling out his scorebook before the game, Johnson inadvertently wrote in Junior Torres' name, who was unavailable due to illness, instead of the active Damarcus Mason. When it was time for Mason to enter action at the 4:54 mark of the third period, game officials were on top of the error and signaled the technical foul.
“I was telling the kids 'I hope we don't lose by two,'” said a chuckling Johnson.
Branson responded in a big way by putting together a monster 17-2 run over the remainder of the quarter to take a five-point edge heading into the final eight minutes of play.
The run was fueled by senior sharpshooter Christian Powell, who nailed two 3-balls during the rally to help him earn a game-high 19 points on the night.
After the Bulldogs slimmed the lead back to 43-41 around the five-minute mark, the game provided another turning point as Powell would foul out with 4:43 to go after being called for a charge on his way to the hoop.
“It hurt us, no question about it,” Branson head coach Kirk Hanson said of Powell's untimely fifth foul. “He has to learn how to play defense and get his hands off people.”
The unfortunate circumstance for Branson equated to a golden opportunity for an unlikely source for the Bulldogs – Damarcus Mason.
Mason, seeing extended playing time due to the absence of Torres, entered the quarter scoreless, but that quickly changed as the sophomore guard tallied eight points in the contest's final four and a half minutes to seal the deal.
Mason's signature moment came with just 29 seconds left in a tie game when he drew a foul while going up for a point-blank shot that would end up finding the bottom of the cylinder.
He would convert the free-throw to give his team the lead for good.
“I was nervous,” said Mason about his critical play. “I was just trying to get the contact and get to the free-throw line, honestly.”
A pair of last-chance efforts from the Pirates would be thwarted by Central's defense – sending an already raucous crowd at James Ball Gymnasium into a deafening frenzy.
“What you heard tonight was The Pit,” Johnson added about the home crowd. “It was so loud in here and I loved it. Since I've been here, this was the biggest, loudest crowd. It was Kansas City Chiefs loud.”
Central will try to feed off Friday's momentum and exact revenge on Tuesday when it takes on Neosho, a team that clipped the Bulldogs by two on New Year's Eve. Branson, which also plays on Tuesday, hosts COC foe Willard.
Box Score
Branson – 8 15 19 5 – 47
Central – 18 7 12 15 – 52
Branson – Christian Powell 19, Seth Wood 16, Montana Myer 6, Nick Dapprich 4, Colby Sutton 2
Central – Bryson Dankert 13, Damarcus Mason 8, Braden Dankert 7, Deontei Johnson 6, Tavi Robinson 6, Quintin Batson 5, Robert Galvan 5, Ian Holyfield 2
