Coming off a tough loss to Ohio Dominican University last Wednesday, the Marauders were looking to show no mercy against Wilberforce University. Central State crushed Wilberforce by a wide margin of 35 points, their highest margin since defeating Fisk University by 36 points earlier in the season.
The Marauder fans packed the Becom-Lewis Gym for another double-header with the ladies playing first and the men later on. Once again, the fans left the gymnasium satisfied as the ladies and the men were able to put together impressive victories against the Bulldogs.
Anthony Passley scored a game high 19 points with 2 assists, a block and a steal. The junior forward also had 5 rebounds which co-led the team along with Gino Smith and Wesley Jones. Wesley Jones, junior point guard, was perfect from long range shooting 4 for 4 and perfect from the charity stripe going 2 for 2. Along with his 16 total points and 5 rebounds, Jones recorded 3 assists and 3 steals, also a game high. Gino Smith scored 17 total points, going 7 for 9 draining 2 three-pointers. Brandon Price and Chris Montgomery both came off the bench and scored 10 points each.
Wilberforce was able to keep the game manageable for the first ten minutes of the contest only trailing by 8 points. At the 9:31 mark the Marauders went on a 10 point run and widened the margin by 18 points. There was no contest the rest of the way as the Marauders never gave up the lead by double digits. Mistakes killed the Bulldogs as they committed 20 turnovers during the game.
The Marauders capitalized on the Bulldogs miscues scoring an incredible 39 points off of turnovers. Central State took good care of the basketball only committing 10 turnovers, tying a low for the season. Central State was spectacular from long range shooting 11 for 14, a game high for the season. Scoring 92 points against Wilberforce makes this the fifth the Marauders have scored above 90 in a game. Only holding the Bulldogs to 57 points makes that total third lowest allowed by the Marauders all season.
Central State earns their seventeenth win of the season(17-4) as the Bulldogs get handed their thirteenth loss of the season(7-13). The Marauders will go for number 18 in the win column as they travel to Lake Erie College on Saturday as part of a lady’s and men’s double header. The Storm has a record of 7-15.
Central State met the Storm on January 9th at the Beacom-Lewis Gym and handed them their 13 loss of the season, defeating them 82-74. The Marauders committed 23 turnovers last time the two teams met, the highest total all season. Central State will be looking to take better care of the basketball this time around, and come away with a victory on the road.