By Robert Tomlinson
News Director
CENTREVILLE — It was a tight game through the first eight minutes between Centreville and White Pigeon Friday night, with the Chiefs out to an 18-16 lead after both teams traded buckets throughout the quarter.
However, one defensive adjustment by Bulldogs coach Matt Price made a difference in the second quarter.
“We felt we were giving up a couple of layups because of [White Pigeon’s] height in our full court trap, so we just went man-to-man, and when we did that, we were able to contain them a bit better,” Price said.
That defensive change, plus a big 27-11 advantage for Centreville in the quarter, led the Bulldogs to a win over the Chiefs at home in their first game of the season Friday night, 80-57.
“We’re one of the only teams in the area that hadn’t played yet. So, I was very pleased with the boys,” Price said. “We want the momentum going into Christmas; we have a bunch of conference games. So, we want to make sure we’re building that momentum.”
Leading the charge in the second quarter for the Bulldogs were a pair of seniors, Matt Swanwick and Ben Truckenmiller, who scored nine points each in the quarter. Truckenmiller had a three-pointer to get the Bulldogs within one point, 22-21, just over a minute into the quarter, while a Swanwick bucket and subsequent free throw gave the Bulldogs a 26-24 lead.
After White Pigeon’s Wes Roberts hit a layup to tie the game at 26 with just over five minutes left in the half, the Bulldogs went on a 17-3 run to end the half, including six more points from Swanwick, four from Truckenmiller, a three-pointer and a steal-and-score from Garrison Bunning, and a bucket from Isaak Miller. White Pigeon’s lone points in that run came from a Ty Strawser three-pointer with 20 seconds to go in the half. That run made it a 43-29 Centreville lead at the half, one the Bulldogs wouldn’t relinquish.
Centreville would continue to pour it on to start the third quarter, scoring the first 10 points of the quarter to extend their lead to 53-29 before a dunk by White Pigeon’s Jordan Pisco gave the Chiefs their first points with five and a half minutes to go. The Bulldogs would hover around that 20-point margin for the rest of the quarter, eventually making it a 64-43 lead by the end of the quarter.
In the fourth, the Bulldogs would extend the lead to 25 points with a putback by Ethan Miller and a dunk by Swanwick to make it 68-43, and a three-ball by Kobe Carpenter made it 72-47 later in the quarter. White Pigeon’s Ty Strawser would lead all teams in scoring in the fourth quarter, dropping nine points in the final stanza, including a pair of threes. The final bucket was scored by the Bulldogs’ Zach Garmire at the buzzer to reach the 80-point mark and the final 80-57 score.
Swanwick led the way for the Bulldogs with a game-high 28 points, while Truckenmiller dropped 20 points, 18 of them in the first half. Bunning had 11 points, Carpenter added eight, Ethan Miller had seven, Isaak Miller had four, and Garmire had two.
“Matt Swanwick kind of makes us go, and I thought he played very, very well, very smart all night and lots of composure. Ben Truckenmiller had a great game shooting-wise,” Price said. “We got really good shooting from other guys too off the bench and in the starting lineup. It was a team effort tonight.”
White Pigeon was led by Strawser with 23 points and four rebounds, while Pisco had 13 points, six rebounds, four assists and three steals. Roberts had 10 points, Mekhi Singleton had seven points, and Brody Block added four points.
“We had some flashes of good things. [Centreville’s] a great team, a great coach, Matt coaches them well. They play with intensity, and we matched it early on, but I don’t think we matched it later,” White Pigeon coach Shawn Strawser said. “We’ve got some things to work on and looking forward to a rematch at our place and playing a little better. We didn’t play terrible, they just kind of don’t make mistakes. Centreville played a great game tonight, and we’ve got to improve on some things so we can match that next time.”
With the win, Centreville goes to 1-0, while White Pigeon drops its record to 0-2. Centreville’s next game will be Tuesday at home against Bloomingdale, while White Pigeon plays next on Tuesday against Marcellus at home.
Robert Tomlinson can be reached at 279-7488 or robert@wilcoxnewspapers.com.
