Trojans top Bull Dogs in regular-season finale

GREENWOOD — Columbus North’s boys basketball team was hoping to go into next week’s sectional with a good deal of momentum. That train got slowed down a bit on Thursday night.

Mr. Basketball favorite Trayce Jackson-Davis dominated down low, scoring 22 points, and host Center Grove also knocked down 11 3-point shots on the way to a convincing 68-38 victory.

The Bull Dogs’ previous six losses had come by a total of 21 points.

“(The Trojans) shot the ball really well,” North coach Paul Ferguson said. “We had to give up something. We were trying to defend Jackson-Davis with a number of different guys. Credit to Center Grove — they moved the ball really well, they made open shots and they just played really good team basketball tonight.”

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After falling behind 10-4 at the start of the night, the Bull Dogs (16-7) got back to within a point on a pair of occasions in the opening quarter, the last on a 3-pointer by Reese Harmon at the 1:54 mark. But Jackson-Davis slowed North’s momentum with a pair of dunks, the latter in the open court after a steal, and the Bull Dogs’ Trenton Kelley was called for his second foul on a charge just seconds later.

A pair of Blake Barker 3s helped North stay within striking distance, cutting the gap to 22-18 with 4:54 to go in the half, but Spencer Piercefield hit two 3-pointers of his own and fed Jackson-Davis for two more dunks as the Trojans (16-8) finished out the half with a 14-3 surge to go into the locker room with a 15-point cushion.

“They responded really well to a couple of our runs,” Ferguson said.

Back-to-back dunks by Jackson-Davis stretched the lead to 19 at the start of the third period. The Bull Dogs managed a 10-2 run in the middle of the quarter to climb back within 11, but Center Grove’s Justin DeGraaf answered with consecutive baskets in the post to make it 48-33 entering the fourth.

The margin grew to 22 by the time the Trojans pulled their starters with about four minutes to play. The reserves only extended it, making five 3s in the final period.

Barker scored 16 points to lead North. No other Bull Dog scored more than five.

Despite the lopsided defeat, Ferguson remains optimistic heading into the postseason. North opens sectional play Tuesday at home against Shelbyville.

“Honestly, I think we got a little bit better tonight,” Ferguson said. “We made a couple of mistakes, and we weren’t quite strong enough with the ball, and those are things that we can learn and grow from as we get ready for the sectional next week.”

During the senior night festivities before the game, Jackson-Davis was presented with a McDonald’s All-American jersey. The Trojan star is the first Johnson County player ever selected to play in the annual showcase, which will take place next month in Atlanta.