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Ford, Centofanti lead Springfield over J-M
By DAN HINER
NORTH JACKSON
After the Springfield boys basketball team lost to Girard on Tuesday, head coach Eric Fender said players other than Jake Ford needed to contribute offensively if the team wanted to make a run in the playoffs.
On Friday night, Tigers senior Frankie Centofanti stepped up in the team’s 75-52 win at Jackson-Milton.
Centofanti scored 19 points, and helped carry the offense when Ford was not in the game.
Ford was in early foul trouble in the first half and needed to sit.
But Centofanti kept his team in the game after scoring 13 first-half points.
“Jake got into some early foul trouble and my teammates found me when I was open with great passes and I was able to convert,” Centofanti said.
Jackson-Milton (6-16) trailed 16-7 at the start of the second quarter. The Blue Jays fought their way back into the game, but couldn’t take the lead.
Springfield (15-7) held onto a 26-23 lead at halftime, and the Tigers put the game out of reach in the third quarter.
Late in the third quarter, Jackson-Milton’s Noah Laster stepped on the ball and injured his ankle. He was unable to return to the game.
Laster still scored a team-high 13 points and was tied for the team lead with eight rebounds.
Johnathon Voland was second on the team with 12 points and a team-high three steals.
The Tigers went on a 12-0 run with four minutes left in the third, and outscored the Blue Jays 23-6 in the quarter.
Jackson-Milton couldn’t score on the Tigers’ defense or stop the combination of Ford and Centofanti.
Ford scored 16 points in the second half, and finished with a game-high 24 points, six rebounds and three steals. Brandon Walters was third on the team with 11 points, four rebounds and four steals.
“It was a team effort,” Fender said. “We took Laster away. In the second half, we were trying to create some different situations and scenarios on them, and it ended up working out for us.”
Jackson-Milton head coach Stephen Procopio said the third quarter has always been a problem for the Blue Jays. He said the team “comes out a little flat” and was a mistake against the Tigers.
The win snapped a three-game losing streak for the Tigers and Fender said the game will give the team confidence heading into the tournament.
“The great thing is nobody cares. Nobody cares about anything other than getting the win,” Fender said. “To end the season with a W after the week and a half that we had, it’s nice. And hopefully this propels us a little bit into the district tournament.”
Fender said Centofanti has been a pivotal part of the team for the last two seasons. Fenders said Centofanti is a leader and his “distributor” mentality is one of the reasons the team succeeds.
“I like to be the distributor; I like to pass the ball,” Centofanti said. “But I like to get open and have my guys find me when I’m open to try to convert and score. Really, whatever it takes to win, I’m gonna do it that night.”