Central Catholic basketball coach Jim Welling had been waiting for his young and inexperienced Irish team to establish an identity, and he saw some evidence of that Thursday night at the Huntington Center.
The Irish -- having graduated most of the key personnel responsible for Central's run to the Division I final four last March -- played their best game of the season in taking a 48-36 victory over previously unbeaten Elida at The Blade High School Basketball Classic.
Junior forward Keith Towbridge scored 15 points, and senior Danielle Turner and sophomore Nate Harris added 12 points apiece as Central moved to 5-2 on the season.
PHOTO GALLERY: Central Catholic vs. Elida
"The game plan was to worry more about us than worry about Elida," Welling said. "We have to get a lot more sound fundamentally on both ends of the floor.
"The last four days of practice we've really been on them to be more consistent on a game-to-game basis. This is the best we've played so far in this young season."
Elida's 6-foot-6 senior Reggie McAdams topped all scorers with 17 points and grabbed eight rebounds as the Bulldogs dropped to 7-1.
Trailing 8-5 after one quarter with each team posting seven turnovers, the Irish used an 11-3 second-quarter run capped by a Towbridge bucket for a 16-11 lead 4:11 before halftime, which came with Central on top 18-15.
Elida tied the game for the last time when McAdams opened the third quarter with a 3-pointer, but Towbridge answered with a 15-footer 18 seconds later, and Central never relinquished its lead.
"We've got a lot of pride in our defense and that's kind of been the trademark of our program since I've gotten here," Welling said. "Today the kids really stepped up and had a complete team effort on the defensive end.
"We took care of the ball and valued possessions, and we were able to grind some things out. We had some really good interior passing."
The Bulldogs were still within 35-30 midway in the final period when Deontae Cole netted a 3-pointer at the 3:03 mark, and Towbridge followed at 2:07 by converting a three-point play to break things open for the Irish.
Those contributions were part of Central's decisive 11-0 run which ended in a 44-30 lead with 1:33 remaining.
"The middle of the floor is where we drive, and they kick it to me or Nate [Harris] or anybody on the block," Towbridge said, "and we just have to finish. It's a team effort."
Central was 19-of-40 from the field, 8-of-14 from the line and outrebounded Elida 28-19. The Bulldogs were 13-of-37 from the field and 4-of-7 from the line.
First Published December 30, 2011, 6:52 a.m.
