THE OFFICIAL SITE OF
Central High School Athletics

The gym was rocking, the pressure was on, the game was in the balance. Central was in the midst of a furious comeback Friday night at the Warrior Challenge, cutting Palisade's lead to 43-40 late in the game. The Warriors needed another stop. Watts Erb, Palisade's 6-foot-3 junior, got the ball in the paint with Central's long-armed 6-6 big man Caleb Davis poised for the blocked shot. That's when Erb gave him an emphatic pump fake and the rest was history. Erb calmly banked home a basket to make the score 45-40 with about one minute to go. Three free throws by Sebastian Campbell iced the 48-44 win for Palisade. Erb said it was a fun game. "It's definitely a rivalry, I've played against these guys my whole life," he said. "There was so much energy in here. The crowd really got going, it was so much fun." As for the pump fake, he just smiled. "He's such an incredible athlete and he can jump, and I know how to get him to jump, so that was fun," he said. With a big crowd and raucous student sections for both schools getting loud, the final minute was frenetic. After Erb's bucket, the Warriors grabbed the momentum back. Davis snagged a rebound and made a long outlet pass to Isaac Cameron, who zipped a pass to Jayden Maes for the layup to cut the lead to 45-44. But Palisade forced two turnovers in the final 30 seconds to preserve the Bulldogs' second win at the tournament. Palisade always had an answer to Central's push to take the lead. A three-point play by Cameron cut the lead to 40-38, but Kevin Loya got a steal, which led to an Erb layup off an assist from Zane Haas. For the second straight night, the Warriors suffered through a dismal first half and had to play from behind. Central's only lead was 3-2 in the opening minutes of the game. Palisade pushed the second half lead to 31-20 on two free throws from Brendon Anderson. That's when the Central rally took off. Nathan Ramos and Maes hit 3-pointers, David Cardenas made a free throw and the Bulldogs' lead was down to 31-30. The Bulldogs answered with a quick 6-0 run. Haas scored off an assist from Erb, then Loya used a screen from the 6-8 Haas to drain a 3-pointer. The first half was a battle of Central's inside game and Palisade's outside game. The Bulldogs' shooters were neon hot in the first half, hitting five 3-pointers and another two jumpers inside the arc to give them a 25-16 halftime lead. Campbell got Palisade started with a pair of 3-pointers for an 11-5 lead. Cameron and Davis, who had 14 and 12 points, respectively, were scoring in the paint for the Warriors. Davis hit back-to back baskets to make the score 11-9 at the end of the first quarter, and Cameron banked in a shot to tie the game at 11-11 to start the second quarter. That's when Loya and Erb caught fire. Erb, who finished with a game-high 15 points, scored seven points down the second-quarter stretch, and Loya hit a 3 and a jumper in the final minute to put the Bulldogs up 25-16 at the half. Loya, who finished with three 3-pointers, had 13 points in the game. Palisade kept its composure in that final chaotic minute. "We really got our energy up and we were all working as a team. We had a lot of assists," Erb said.

THE OFFICIAL SITE OF
Central High School Athletics

FANTASTIC FINISH PALISADE HOLDS OFF LATE CENTRAL RALLY AT WARRIOR CHALLENGE

DALE SHRULL

The Daily Sentinel | 12/1/2018

PHOTO CREDIT: Chancey Bush