All the ingredients came together for a special night on Thursday for the Centennial boys basketball team.
On senior night, in front of a packed gym against rival Mt. Hebron, the Eagles put together a huge second half to pull away for a convincing 63-44 victory that secures the program at least a share of its first county title since the 2011-12 season.
"For it being senior night, Mt. Hebron coming in as a rivalry game and with the game being the magnitude that it was, emotions were definitely intense," Centennial coach Chad Hollwedel said. "I'm very proud of the kids for managing all that and putting together an exceptional effort to work together. They've done it all season, and tonight was no different."
The senior duo of Isaiah White and Chad Strothers led the way for Centennial (17-1, 19-2) with 16 points apiece, but the Eagles also got big nights from Tom Brown (15 points — all in the second half) and Connor Clemens (8 points).
White said this is a game the team has been looking forward to for quite some time.
"You know, ever since the schedule was released back in like November, all the seniors knew this was the last time we'd ever play Hebron (in the regular season)," he said. "We just had to go out and win. Coming up to this game, even like a month or two before, there was just so much hype about it."
The victory secured a regular-season sweep for the Eagles over Mt. Hebron (10-8, 13-8), with the game earlier this season ending in a 60-38 Centennial victory.
In truth, the two games played out very similarly. Just like the first meeting, the game this time around saw a fairly evenly played first half.
Mt. Hebron even had itself a sizeable lead early in the first quarter on Thursday, using a 12-0 run to grab a 12-4 lead in the opening six minutes. During that stretch, Aaren Smith (14 points, 9 rebounds) and Joey Trapuzzano (11 points) were both big factors for the Vikings.
But Centennial began to make its move at the beginning of the second quarter. Bookended by 3-pointers by Elijah White and Michael Merkey, the Eagles put together an 8-0 push to start the second quarter and reclaim the lead.
By halftime, the score was 26-23 in favor of Centennial.
Then, immediately out intermission, Brown began asserting himself on the interior and the Eagles began pulling away.
Transition baskets proved especially key for the Eagles, who outscored Mt. Hebron 23-8 in the first 10 minutes of the second half. Centennial's lead never dipped below 12 points at any point in the fourth quarter.
"They had a good start, but we realized that we needed to push in transition. We did that and we ended up getting lots of energy plays, which motivated us and we kept pushing," Strothers said.
There are five seniors on the roster this year for Centennial and Hollwedel was pleased with the contribution of all of them in the victory over the Vikings.
"Chad started strong and finished strong too, and Isaiah is a special and talented kid on both ends of the floor. Both were huge tonight," Hollwedel said. "But the three other kids, Eli (Geist), Connor and Kevin (Wilson) that got basically zero run last year, they all play huge roles on this team too and I thought their presence tonight made a big difference in helping us build our lead."
Centennial can secure sole possession of the county championship with a win over Marriotts Ridge on the road to close out the team's regular season on Friday.
Centennial 63, Mt. Hebron 44
C (17-1, 19-2): I. White 16, Strothers 16, Brown 15, Clemens 8, Merkey 5, E. White 3.
MH (10-8-13-8): A. Smith 14, Trapuzzano 11, M. Smith 4, Madden 4, Horton 3, Maloney 3, Schroeder 2, Linsenmeyer 2, Bryant 1.
Half: 26-23 C.
Other scores:
Reservoir 66, Howard 44
The Gators avenged a loss earlier this season to the Lions behind a balanced scoring effort that saw 10 guys score at least two points.
Re (12-6, 13-8): Phillips 14, Mierzwa 13, Henry 12, Omorogbe 8, Obering 6, Gaines 4, Benson 3, J. Garcia 2, G. Garcia 2, Maloney 2.
Ho (7-11, 9-12): Greene 9, Dawkins 9, Noble 9, Okoye 8, Savage 5, Ajayi 2, Robinson 2.
Half: 22-21 Re.
River Hill 55, Marriotts Ridge 38
RH (13-5, 16-5): Thomas 20, Mitchell 7, Heitzmann 6, Martin 6, Borucki 5, DiSimone 3, Gable 3, Mentle 3, Sandler 2.
MR (4-14, 5-16): Caffes 8, Clipp 8, Speelman 8, Dar 4, Ingersoll 3, Whitacre 3, Baig 2, Talentino 2.
Half: 31-19 RH.
Long Reach 58, Wilde Lake 51
Ron Carter led the way with a huge double-double (15 points and 17 rebounds) to spark the Lightning to the victory over Wilde Lake.
LR (8-10, 9-12): Carter 15, Avery 9, Duckett 8, Lamar 7, Brodnax 5, Clark 5, Statamtiades 5, Menusan 4.
WL (1-17, 3-18): Cantwell 12, Jordan 11, Ichrist 9, Delarosa 8, Stubblefield 5, Morgan 2, Bowie 2, Barnes 2.
Half: 24-22 LR.
Glenelg 82, Hammond 61
G(8-10, 10-11): Richardson 15, Van de Wall 13, Napolitano 13, Oates 9, Koele 6, Hammert 5, Mills 5, Wade 4, Conners 4, Monroe 4, Bowman 2, Davis 2.
Ha (2-16, 3-18): Wilcher 12, Johnson 10, Ridgell 9, Wheatley 7, Thomas 5, Nicholas 4, Whong 4, White 4, Moore 2, Thomas 2, Moore 2.
Half: 46-26 G.