No. 8 Panthers let lead slip, Lewis Central closes for win

A push in the second quarter by Lewis Central led to the Titans reeling in Class 4A No. 8 Creston, handing the Panthers a 66-56 loss Saturday afternoon.

The win for Lewis Central brings it to 7-4. Creston drops to 9-4.

After shooting ahead with a 14-3 run across the first quarter, the Titans looked like they were in for a long afternoon against Creston, trailing 23-11.

Strong defense and an inability to get the ball to fall in the second quarter saw Lewis Central crawl back. A 13-0 run comprised of a 6-for-6 stretch from the free-throw line made the game 28-25 at the break.

Eleven of the 13 points- scored in the run came across the second quarter.

“Those 11 points took six minutes. We’ve got to put the ball in the basket,” said Neubauer. “... If we give up just 11 points in six minutes, I’m fine with that. We just have to put the ball in the basket. I think we went on a 12-minute scoring (drought). ... It was one of those things where we got sped up in the second half and got into a jump shooting contest. We can’t do that.”

Coming out of halftime, the Titans picked back up where they left off, hitting back-to-back threes to make LC’s run 19-0 across two quarters.

A basket from Sam Dunphy and a 3-pointer from Kelsey Fields shot Creston ahead again, this time leading 33-31.

The Panthers and Titans bounced back-and-forth with possession of the lead through the third quarter, but LC nailed back-to-back threes from Keely Diercks and McKenna Pettepier, putting pressure on Creston with the fourth quarter approaching.

Fields hit another three to cut the deficit to five. It was the closest Creston got to evening the score for the rest of the afternoon as the margin widened through the fourth quarter.

Lewis Central tacked on a 12-0 run for insurance through the end of the third and the beginning of the fourth quarter. Creston managed to bring the difference as close as 10 as time expired.

Neubauer said after the Panthers’ hot start, they were unable to get settled on the floor.

“Unfortunately, after a quick start shooting the ball outside, we never got settled (offensively),” said Neubauer. “I think that was the biggest difference in the game. ... The start of that fourth quarter, they made a nice run, and we didn’t respond very well.”

Leading in scoring for Creston was Fields with 29 points. Morgan Driskell scored nine points and Sam Dunphy chipped in seven.

Fields had 14 rebounds to close with a double-double. Dunphy had 10 boards as the only other Panther in double-digit rebounding.

Rylie Driskell led in assists with four.

Lewis Central playing physical on defense helped keep Creston off the board, and worked to their advantage with officiating, said Neubauer.

“The way the game was called (Saturday), that was to their advantage,” said Neubauer. “They made us shoot jump shots. They made Kelsey and Sam work for everything. ... That’s good officiating. ... We just have to get after it and get after Shenandoah Tuesday.”

UP NEXT — Creston takes on Shenandoah today (Tuesday) on the road at Shenandoah. Tip comes at 6 p.m.

Lewis Central 66, Creston 56

LEWIS CENTRAL (66) — (FG FT PTS) Totals — 19 18-25 66. McKenna Pettepier 6 2-2 18, Keely Diercks 5 2-3 15, Lucy Scott 4 4-5 15, Grace Ruzicka 1 3-5 7, Kylee Brown 2 3-4 7. 3-point goals — 10 (Pettepier 4, Scott 3, Diercks 3). Team fouls — 15. Fouled out — none.

CRESTON (56) — (FG FT PTS) Totals — 21 7-12 56. Kelsey Fields 12 2-3 29, Morgan Driskell 3 1-1 9, Sam Dunphy 2 3-5 7, Braelyn Baker 1 0-0 3, Bri Fields 1 1-2 3, Doryn Paup 1 0-0 2. 3-point goals — 7 (K. Fields 3, M. Driskell 2, Baker, Paup). Rebounds – 40 (K. Fields 14, Dunphy 10, B. Fields 6). Assists – 15. Steals – 4. Blocks – 4. Team fouls — 19. Fouled out — None.