Dragons grind out 53-47 road win against Raiders
Published 11:02 pm Monday, February 10, 2025
Warren Central senior Robert McAfee (1) is defended by Warren East junior Kaleb Prince (3) during Central’s 53-47 win over East on Feb. 10.
Warren Central junior Ryan Hulbert (13) is defended by Warren East senior Jordan Hogue (11) during Central’s 53-47 win over East on Feb. 10.
Warren Central senior Robert McAfee (1) scores during Central’s 53-47 win over East on Feb. 10.
Warren Central junior Karaun Johnson (5) drives to the basket during Central’s 53-47 win over East on Feb. 10.
Warren East junior Kaleb Prince (3) drives to the basket during Central’s 53-47 win over East on Feb. 10.
Warren East Raiders head coach Kyle Benge (center) watches his team during Central’s 53-47 win over East on Feb. 10.
Warren Central senior Jarek Kirk (11) is defended by Warren East senior Brenden Bratcher (5) during Central’s 53-47 win over East on Feb. 10.
Warren Central senior Jarek Kirk (11) is defended by Warren East senior Brenden Bratcher (5) during Central’s 53-47 win over East on Feb. 10.
Warren East junior Kaleb Prince (3) is blocked at the basket by Warren Central junior Karaun Johnson (5) during Central’s 53-47 win over East on Feb. 10.
Warren Central Dragons head coach William Unseld (right) watches his team during Central’s 53-47 win over East on Feb. 10.
Warren Central senior Robert McAfee (1) is blocked on a dunk by Warren East senior Brenden Bratcher (5) during Central’s 53-47 win over East on Feb. 10.
Warren East senior Brenden Bratcher (5) dribbles down the court during Central’s 53-47 win over East on Feb. 10.
Warren East senior Ethan Sloan (40) is defended by Warren Central junior Karaun Johnson (5) during Central’s 53-47 win over East on Feb. 10.
Warren East senior Brenden Bratcher (5) is defended by Warren Central sophomore Gavin Carter (2, left) and Warren Central junior Karaun Johnson (5) as Warren East junior Brayden Lightfoot (13) looks on during Central’s 53-47 win over East on Feb. 10.
It isn’t always glitz and glamour, not even for high-flying Warren Central.
The Dragons, who make a strong argument for being the best boys’ basketball team in Region 4 this year — so far, at least — were short of flash in Monday’s road matchup against Warren East.
To beat the Raiders required grit in a blue-collar, grinding contest. The Dragons proved they had enough sand to come away with a workmanlike 53-47 victory to improve their record against regional foes to 12-0 this season.
“It was an ugly game,” Warren Central coach William Unseld said. “They made it a grind-it-out, tough, physical game. We’re still trying to get our pieces here and there — as soon as we get one, we lose another. So we’re just trying to get a feel for how we play together. As a coach, you want to get a feel for your rotation. Our rotation changes every game.
“The kids are doing a good job. You’re going to have to win tough games sometimes on the road. They found a way to win it because this is a game they easily could have lost.”
Warren Central (21-4) got rocked early, as the host Raiders put together a 9-0 run to grab a 13-4 lead with 3:56 left in the first quarter.
The Dragons cut that deficit to five points by the end of the first quarter despite hitting just 5-of-17 shots — the first five attempts were all 3-pointers, all misses.
Warren East (14-11) pushed the lead back out to nine on a Brenden Bratcher jumper, but the Dragons finally got going when Ant McAfee got an offensive putback to start a pivotal 13-0 run that turned a nine-point deficit into a 23-21 lead with 49 seconds left in the half.
“That run was very big for us,” said Central junior Dominique Anthony, who have five points in that spurt. “That allowed us to come out of halftime with momentum.”
The third quarter was very much a back-and-forth battle, with the Raiders reclaiming the lead after trailing 25-23 at the break on Jordan Hogue’s 3-pointer that made it 28-26. The Dragons tied it back up twice, only for the Raiders to reclaim the lead.
Karaun Johnson’s 3 put Central ahead again at 35-33 with 2:29 left in the third, but East’s Dane Parsley took that lead right back with a 3 of his own.
The Dragons finally found their shooting touch a bit late in the third, as Central’s Jarek Kirk and Ian Daniel bracketed another Bratcher 3-pointer with triples of their own to stake their team to a 42-39 lead heading into the fourth.
Daniel, a sophomore, provided a boost of the bench by hitting two of the Dragons’ three 3-pointers in the game.
“I tell those kids all the time that are sitting there, you never know when your number’s going to be called,” Unseld said. “With me, it’s just a feel sometimes of all right, we need a guy who can make a shot out there. And he can do that with the best of them.”
Bratcher (game-high 17 points) opened the fourth with another 3-pointer to knot the score at 42-all, but McAfee converted a feed into the paint from Daniel into a bucket inside, then scored again under the glass to push the Dragons back out to a 47-42 lead.
Jacob Miller cut that to two points with a 3 for the Raiders with 3:11 to go, but that was East’s last field goal of the night. Anthony (12 points, five rebounds) scored on an inbounds play, then hit 3-of-4 free throws and had a key steal down the stretch as Central inched away for the win.
“Dominique Anthony makes winning plays,” Unseld said. “We’re hard on him because we expect him to make plays all the time. He’s a kid, he makes some bad decisions sometimes. But he always makes up for them with big plays. He just comes up with the ball.”
Kirk led the Dragons with 14 points and six rebounds, and McAfee added 12 points.
Ethan Sloan was solid inside for the Raiders with eight points and 10 rebounds, while Bratcher just missed a double-double with his 17 points and nine rebounds.
“I thought defensively we were really locked in, really played hard,” Warren East coach Kyle Benge said. “There were just some gaps there in the second quarter where we didn’t get as many rebounds and we gave up some offensive rebounds to them. You can’t do that with a team like that.
“At the end of the day, they are the favorites to win the Fourth (Region). So for it to be a ballgame, back-and-forth, I’m really proud of our guys’ fight.”
Warren East was slated to host Caverna on Tuesday, while Warren Central was set to go back on the road to take on Adair County.
WCHS 10 15 17 11 — 53
WEHS 15 8 16 8 — 47
WCHS — Kirk 14, Anthony 12, McAfee 12, Daniel 6, J. Byrd 4, Johnson 3, Carter 2.
WEHS — Bratcher 17, Prince 9, Sloan 8, Hogue 5, Parsley 5, Miller 3.
