Central Private upsets Jackson Prep
Southern Sports & Travel
Playing on back-to-back nights Class AA 5th ranked Central Private did what no other MAIS team had done since late in the 2011 season, hang a loss on the Jackson Prep Patriots.
Central Private (12-3) hammered Bowling Green 68-42 on Thursday night on the road before upsetting Jackson Prep 78-73 at Prep on Friday night.
In the win over Prep the Rebels never relinquished the lead with senior guard Simpson Anderson leading all scorers with 27 points.
Central Private would overwhelm Prep with a frenetic first eight minutes that would result in a 23-12 advantage entering the second quarter.
Jackson Prep stayed close early on and at the 4:57 mark pulled to within two points at 9-7 on a 3-point basket by Cade Noble but a 12-0 Central Private run sparked by two Simpson Anderson 3-pointers extended the lead to 21-7 with 2:06 left in the quarter.
The Rebels led by 15 points twice in the third quarter and a Simpson Anderson 3-pointer with 27 seconds remaining would close out the quarter with Central Private holding a 62-48 advantage.
Jackson Prep closed the deficit to single digits at 64-55 on a Richard Baird fast break bucket with 6:36 remaining in regulation and a Josh Williams lay-in off a Rebel turnover with 3:42 to go got Prep to within seven points at 67-60 but consecutive baskets by Thomas Kelly and Simpson Anderson pushed Central Private's lead back to eleven at 71-60 with 3:16 left in the contest.
Jackson Prep made a late run with less than 40 seconds remaining as Gene Wood buried two 3-pointers to pull the Patriots to within a bucket at 75-73 with 23 seconds to go but Central Private's Shaun Fitch would can 3 of 4 free throws down the stretch to preserve the 78-75 win.
Simpson Anderson (Photo left) led all scorers with 27 points, the senior also pulled down 11 rebounds. Central Private senior Liam Thomas fell just shy of a triple-double on consecutive nights as the 6'10" center scored 15 points, pulled down 9 rebounds and had 9 blocked shots, Shaun Fitch added 15 points, Jayden Cohen had 13 points and 9 assists and Thomas Kelly pitched in with 6 points.
Jackson Prep (14-3) was led by Josh Williams with 24 points, Richard Baird and Gene Wood added 12 each.
