Central at Washburn observations

Central gets out to an 11-4 lead with 13 minutes left in the 1st half. Washburn claws back and the teams go back and forth for a 28-26 Central lead at the half. Washburn was 3-12 from the line in the half. Cedric Martin with 6 pts but 1-6 FTs. Rashede Hageman picked up his 2nd foul at 9:12 and he sat the rest of the half. He was a force on the glass when he was in there and finished the half with just 2 pts. Seems like he's always in foul trouble when I see him play. Larry Brown with only 4 pts, Dylan Hale had 8 for the Minutemen.

Central comes out with the 1st 6 points of the 2nd half and after a Hale steal and layup its 38-30 Central with 13:40 left. But Martin hits a 3 and Hageman gets 2 inside buckets, followed by a Martin layup and 3 pt play as part of a 15-2 Washburn run. That run gives Washburn a 45-40 lead with 6:04 to go. Central gets 8 of the next 10 pts to go ahead 48-47 with 3:52 remaining. Nick Smith knocks down a 3 from Martin with 2:30 to play (remember that). Brown hits 2 of 2 FTs at 2:10 to tie the game at 50. That play was the 3rd straight possession where Brown got a post touch. I've been critical of teams not getting their stars touches when and where it mattered so this sequence by Central deserves praise. Washburn turns it over but Central doesn't get a good shot so its Washburn ball with 1:10 left. Larry Brown rebounds a miss with 45 seconds left and Central kills the clock until 13 seconds remain to take a timeout. At this point I'm thinking the same play call as the one that they used at the end against Minneapolis North. And sure enough, here comes Larry Brown to the left elbow but Cedric Martin does a great job of forcing him all the way to mid-court to catch the ball and then he tips it away and time expires. We go to OT tied at 50.

In the OT, Michael Adams makes 1 of 2 FTs to give Central a 51-50 lead with 2:24 to go. Martin misses a front end for Washburn at 1:24 left. Daanjerae Johnson makes 2 FTs for Central to put them up 53-50 with 1:03 to play. Nick Smith gets an open look off a pass from Martin after a timeout with 36 seconds left, but Washburn rebounds and Martin misses another front end with 27 seconds to play. Washburn doesn't foul until 7 seconds left and Johnson tacks on 1 more FT to give Central a 54-50 win.

Martin with 14 to lead Washburn but 2-9 from the line including 2 clutch front ends (so you could count this as 2-11) but he was a dominant force with the ball in his hands not just for himself, but he got his teammates good open looks as well. Hageman with a nice 2nd half of 9 pts to finish with 11 total. Washburn went scoreless the last 2:30 of regulation and the entire 4 minutes of overtime.

Dylan Hale leads Central with 15. Jordan Larson with a nice game of 12 points. Larry Brown only has 8 for Central. Both teams started 4 underclassmen. Central loses Brown which is a big loss, but Hageman and Martin both return next year for Washburn.