The Centralia boys had been on the losing end of close situations as of late.

In the week leading up to Friday’s 46-43 win against Mexico at home, the Panthers lost 52-49 to Moberly and 58-57 to Bowling Green each on shots in the final seconds at home. Centralia (7-6) didn’t allow Mexico (11-4) to take a high-percentage shot at the end on Friday.

Mexico had a 56-49 overtime win at Fulton to its credit in the same week and was hoping for another after James Matthews hit a 3-pointer to make it 45-43 Centralia with seconds left. Head coach Brandon Crites said the first half “might have been the best defensive half” in his coaching career, and the Panthers made plays in the fourth quarter.

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“You look at how they were competing — connected and talking,” Crites said. “Defense has been an emphasis all year. We’ve been working full court and have worked on our complete defensive shell. This past week, we were able to turn up the intensity a little bit and I think it translated to the floor tonight.”

Mexico has several quick guards to track, and Centralia did just that. Charlie Fisher led Mexico with 14 points, Kaden Benne added nine points on three 3-pointers off the bench and Matthews had six points. 

“We have really good athletes,” Crites said. “Whenever they’re connected as they are, athlete for athlete, I think we’re really good. They’re understanding of where they’re supposed to be continues to get better. When you know where you’re supposed to go and what you’re supposed to do, you are able to be quicker.”

Clayton Moore led Centralia off the bench with 13 points, Anthony Ford finished with 11 points and 10 rebounds, and Ethan Ross had eight points and five rebounds. 

Moore had six points at crucial moments during the loss to Bowling Green and has been affecting the game more recently. He has benefitted from the repetitions referred to by Crites.

“I’ve been playing with a lot of confidence, knowing I deserve to be here and everything happens for a reason,” Moore said. “I’ve put in hard work and have put in weekends, late nights and everything is finally paying off.”

The nerves that come along with games that have a tight margin have found Centralia a lot this season, and Moore said the team uses “the nerves and the competitiveness.” He said Mexico had a lot of energy from its bench and student section so the Panthers tried to “fire back at them” and “use their confidence as our confidence.”

Crites said Moore has made the most of his opportunities and has made a good case for staying on the floor since when Centralia played Macon on Dec. 11. Mason Danielson hit a 3-pointer in the fourth quarter to give Centralia another key contributor off the bench, and Crites said he would have been happy with his performance without the 3-pointer because of the confidence and toughness he has right now.

“There’s not a huge talent gap within our players,” Crites said. “The way you practice is going to determine what any given night is going to look like.”

After a week where Centralia has toed the line of victory and defeat, Crites said he is happy with how the Panthers are playing. Centralia plays at Higbee (10-4) at 6 p.m. tonight.

“I challenged the whole team (Jan. 4) that their definition of playing hard and mine is not the same,” Crites said. “They’re still learning what my definition is, and you’re seeing it tonight. We’ve got to hold to the enthusiasm and not get too high or too low.”