The Hixson Wildcats knocked Central from the unbeaten ranks Thursday night, and they made it look easier.
Hixson held Central to just two points in the third quarter en route to a 47-26 win.
"We played great defensively. Our defensive intensity was very high," Hixson Coach Bill Eller said.
He said, "Central has a very quick team. To hold such a quick and athletic team to this low a score was very big."
Coach Eller said the home court factor helped. "We don't want to lose at home," he said.
He said, "We knew Central was a touch team - coming in 6-0. We knew they had played some good teams too."
Hixson improves to 8-3, including 2-1 in the district.
The Wildcats were led by Nick Rivers, who scored 18, including a long 3 as Hixson ran off 11 straight points at the start of the second half. That padded their lead to 34-15 after leading 23-15 at halftime. They were up 18-9 at the end of the quarter.
Central did not score in the third quarter until Dominique Jones finally canned a basket at the 2:50 mark.
Ryan Merriman was held to just two points, and Lewis Jones managed 5. Matt Wilhoite had 6, including a 3 near the end.
Allen Green had 9 for Hixson and Curtis Scott 8. Greg Porter added 4 and J.P. Percy 2.
In the girls' game, Central showed signs of ending a long losing streak. But Hixson prevailed 36-32.
It was the first win of the season for Hixson.
Tara Roberts had 9 and Karmesha Cheeks 8. Other Hixson scoring included Sheena Ellis 5, Erica Coppinger and Heather Dills 4 each and Leslie Johnson, Nicole Rivers and Heather Rylander 2 each.
Barbara Holland scored 11 for Central, while Kristen Wickert added 7. Katie Johnson and Ragan Elliott had 5 each and Stacy Richardson and Marletta Jones 2 each.
Wildcat timeout
- Photo2 by John Wilson