Late Eastern run sinks Central - 16-3 burst seals it for Eagles

Caleb Williams scored 22 points to lead the hosts to a 65-53 victory over Central in an early season matchup of two of the top boys basketball teams in the Seventh Region. The 6-foot-4 forward hit 8 of 10 shots, grabbed six rebounds and blocked four shots.

With Trey Moses having graduated to Ball State, it’s left David Henley’s Eagles (1-0) with a big hole to fill. While Williams may not measure up to the 6-foot-9 Moses, Henley knows what he’ll get from his junior, who the coach admitted really isn’t a post player.

“He’s a champion and a character kid, and you know every day we step out on the practice court Caleb’s going to give 110 percent,” Henley said.

Williams scored the first three baskets for Eastern, which jumped out early as Central struggled. The Yellowjackets (1-1) shot 26.1 percent and turned the ball over 12 times in the first half. By the midway point in the second half, Eastern held a 38-22 lead.

But Central mounted a comeback behind Brandon Wells. The 5-foot-8 senior guard scored all of his 19 points in the second half as Central worked its way back in the game. The Yellowjackets got as close as 47-45 with 4:30 left, but a technical foul seconds later on Anthony Southers was instrumental in a 16-3 Eastern run.

Southers drove for a layup and was fouled hard by Kobey Jones with 4:08 left. After picking himself up, Southers said something to the Eastern players, resulting in the technical and his fifth foul. The senior missed both his free throws, while Jones, who finished with 15 points, made one, widening his team’s lead to 50-45.

With 1:41 left, two more free throws by Jones, a senior guard, made it 63-47.

“We got the ball back, so now we could settle down a little bit (and) get into our offense,” said Jones of the technical.

Central coach Doug Bibby called the technical a teachable moment for his players, but he couldn’t criticize Southers too much because he felt the forward, who is just coming back from playing football, was the only Yellowjackets player who showed any emotion on the court.

“If we’d have won that game, I would have been disappointed,” Bibby said. Eastern “left it out on the court. They played with heart. They played with effort.”

And the key to that was Williams, one of the members of a junior class that will lead the Eagles this season. After finishing last season with two tough losses in the district and regional tournaments, Williams believes his team can compete this year.

“We’ve just been practicing hard and getting ready,” he said. “Ever since last year when we lost to Manual (65-61 in the regional). We have a good chance to win this year.”