Central fell 61-55 in a North Central Conference boys basketball game Friday at Marion. The Bearcats (9-11, 4-5 NCC) raced out to a 15-point lead by the end of the first quarter, but Marion quickly tightened the gap. The Giants (14-8, 5-4 NCC) trailed by three points at halftime, then took the lead in the third quarter.
Phillip Corthen III led Central’s offensive attack with 22 points, and Andre Jones added 15.
• Monroe Central 60, Cowan 52: The Golden Bears were behind by seven points at halftime but came back for the conference road win. Monroe Central coach Justin Ullom said his team focused on halfcourt man-to-man defense in the second half after using some pressure and zone defense in the first half, and he thought the approach paid dividends.
Monroe Central’s Israel Nash led all scorers with 22 points. Dustin Brown scored 10 points for the Golden Bears to also crack double figures.
Clayton Kiplinger led Cowan with 18 points, and teammate Brady Harris scored 13 points.
• Blue River 79, Wes-Del 78: Blue River scored on a layup after a defensive rebound to take the lead in the closing seconds. Wes-Del had a jumper at the buzzer to win the game that didn’t fall.
Wes-Del’s Bryce Marsh had a big night, scoring 30 points. Teammate Sam Smoot scored 16 points, and the Warriors’ Adam Routh and Tevin Richards each logged 11 points.
• Heritage Hall 75, Colonial Christian 38: The Patriots had four players score in double figures as they cruised to the win. Drew Bond led the charge with 20 points. Skyler Posey scored 16, Brayden Karnes scored 15 and Grant Prewitt logged 13 points. Prewitt had a double-double, also grabbing a team-high 12 rebounds.