Top-ranked Althoff deals Centralia Orphans their first loss

Althoff was able to celebrate Friday after handing Centralia its first loss this season, but the Crusaders also realized they have a lot of work to do.

“It’s cool,” said Althoff junior Jordan Goodwin, who scored three straight baskets early in the fourth quarter to help the Crusaders pull away in a 58-50 South Seven Conference basketball win. “We’ve got an ‘X’ on our back so we’ve just got to rise to the occasion.”

Goodwin had 17 points while Illinois-Chicago recruit Tarkus Ferguson led the way with 18 as Althoff (7-1) managed to pull away down the stretch while improving to 3-0 in league play.

“Those guys are a top 10 team in the state,” Althoff coach Greg Leib said. “Centralia’s tough. Like I always say, (Orphans coach) Lee (Bennett) can take third-hour P.E. class, give them a couple days of practice and they can win 20 games. They’re good.

“We were fortunate enough to get some stops down the stretch and get a little separation. It was a good win and a good test for us. We needed a test like this to see where we’re at and it showed us a little bit about what we need to work on.”

KEY SEQUENCE

Ranked first in the state in Class 3A while Centralia (8-1, 2-1) was 12th, the Crusaders found themselves trailing 33-28 early in the second half. After missing all eight of its 3-point tries in the third quarter, Althoff turned to Ferguson for help.

The senior guard was fouled on a 3-point try and hit all three foul shots, the nailed a fallaway jumper at the end of the third quarter to give the Crusaders a 37-35 lead over the Orphans.

The run eventually reached 12-2 with Goodwin banging away inside, the one area Althoff controlled much of the night. The Division I recruit demanded the ball and got it during his fourth-quarter hot stretch.

“Their fans started saying some discouraging things to him, I think that fired him up a little bit, Leib said. “ He just competes. Everybody asks what separates Jordan Goodwin ... he just competes and the bigger the stakes, the harder he goes.”

Goodwin enjoyed the moment.

“It was a packed house, we wanted to come out here and get a win for our fans and basically for ourselves,” he said. “The season’s still young, we came out here and got a ‘W’ and that’s a big win for us.”

The trio of Goodwin, Ferguson and Southern Illinois University Carbondale recruit Brendon Gooch (11 points) cleaned up the majority of the rebounds all night at both ends.

“It’s hard for us to get a rebound against those guys for obvious reasons,” Centralia coach Lee Bennett said. “It’s the first time we’ve played guys that are all 6-foot-2 to 6-foot-6, long and athletic. It’s not a coincidence.

“We shot the three well enough (5-for-10) to have a chance. We just didn’t quite finish at the rim well enough to finish it.”

KEY PERFORMERS

Centralia’s Tyriq Billberry scored 18 points and hit two big 3-pointers early in the fourth quarter to keep the Orphans within striking distance. Goodwin’s six points, mixed with Ferguson’s seven free throws down the stretch, allowed Althoff to pull out the win.

Also impressive was Centralia guard D’Aaron Owens, whose quickness made him unstoppable at times. Owens finished with 15 points.

“This will be a good game for us to learn from,” Bennett said. “This is the first really bang-bang game we’ve been in and it didn’t go our way. And it’s the best team we’ve played, obviously, but there’s a lot of things we can learn from situationally there.”

Centralia’s ultra-quick guards gave the Crusaders problems throughout the first half. Owens had 10 of his team’s first 25 points and defenders struggled to match his speed as he moved around the court as if on a revved-up hoverboard.

A steady diet of 3-pointers served Althoff well in the first half as they kept feeding at the 3-point arc, getting one each from four different players.

Centralia tied it 25-25 on two free throws by Jarrod Williams late in the half, but a free throw by Ferguson gave his team a slim halftime lead.

Althoff made it a little harder on itself by sinking only 18-of-29 free throws. Three of Althoff’s starters are at 60 percent or below on their foul shots, something which could burn the Crusaders in close games.

“We work on it ... I may quit working on it,” Leib said. “One year we quit working on it and we shot better, so you never know.”

The Crusaders were just 4-of-17 from beyond the 3-point arc.

This story was originally published December 18, 2015 at 10:57 PM with the headline "Top-ranked Althoff deals Centralia Orphans their first loss."