Centralia had a season with several one-possession games but hadn’t played one in a while.

In their first one-bucket decision in two months, the Panthers lost their Class 3 sectional game 52-50 to Dixon (25-4) on Tuesday in Linn. John Creamer led the floor with 23 points, hit the game-tying free throws and then put in the game-winning layup with 5.7 seconds left.

The Panthers (18-11) hadn’t faced Dixon before — similar to the Lady Panthers from the night before — so head coach Brandon Crites did his homework. The main conclusion he came to is that Dixon can score quickly as Crites said Dixon came back from almost 20 points down in one game. Centralia led 42-30 late in the third quarter.

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“With their playing style, they can score points in a hurry,” Crites said. “They press their makes, they’ll press their misses and they’ll even, at times, press turnovers, which is dangerous to do. You have opportunities to push the pace and try to get transition baskets. Whenever you don’t score in transition, that’s when you really have to be sure with the ball, make strong passes and run to every catch.”

Crites said Centralia actually wanted Dixon to bring two defenders to the ball so his team could have a 4-on-3 or another uneven advantage. He pointed to the third quarter, where this strategy was the most effective and then the Panthers knocked down four 3-pointers. 

“Defensively, they’re flying around,” Crites said. “They’re tough and flying over top of screens. They were connected off the ball, or five guys responsible for keeping a team from scoring and not just matchups. Whenever they fight through a screen, we’d have two on the ball temporarily, they hit the short roll and our guys were there.”

Ethan Ross had three 3-pointers and led Centralia with 15 points, Anthony Ford finished with 13 points and 12 rebounds, and Oliver Bohlmeyer had 12 points and 10 rebounds. Ford and other seniors — Quin Eckler, Clayton Moore, Cal Romine, Chase Kempker (seven rebounds), Anthony Young and Luke Waltemate (five points) — played their final games as Panthers.

Ford’s final game ended with just over three minutes left in the game and with Centralia ahead 47-42. He fouled out after managing to play most of the fourth quarter with four fouls.

“He’s the leader and led from the bench,” Crites said. “He’s a great rebounder, and he’s very sure with the ball. When he gets it, he has a presence that brings sureness to everybody around him.”

Crites said he was going to trust Ford with four fouls rather than risk the game getting away from Centralia by sitting him to start the fourth quarter. 

Dixon went into the night averaging over 70 points a game, which helped it achieve its second straight 20-win season. Crites said Centralia did well defending the Bulldogs, but the game came down to free throws. Dixon overcame seven straight missed free throws to start the fourth quarter with the two timely makes by Creamer while Centralia went 4-for-10 from the line in the fourth quarter.

Centralia still had its most wins and best winning percentage in six years. In their first season with Crites, the Panthers won their first conference title in 15 years and their first district title in 22 years.

Crites said the credit belongs to his players and that he enjoyed accomplishing that much this season with this group.

“It’s all about those boys,” Crites said. “They did it. I just got to be there. I think those boys are proud of what they accomplished. It’s not much about me but about them. That’s the main thing.”