Jones gives Centennial boys lift vs. Cimarron

There’s no doubt that Aaseem Dixon is the go-to player for Centennial’s boys basketball team.

But Justin Jones quietly piled up key baskets for the Bulldogs on Thursday.

Jones, a 6-foot-4-inch post player, had 12 points and eight rebounds to help Centennial to a 65-52 road victory over Cimarron-Memorial.

“Man, I swear he’s been like the glue of our team,” Bulldogs coach Todd Allen said. “He’s just around the basket doing the right things for us.”

The Bulldogs led 29-27 at the half, but opened the third quarter with a 15-5 run capped by a Joe Marshall 3-pointer with 2:38 to play in the quarter.

Jones scored six points in a span of a 1:17 late in the quarter to help Centennial extend its lead to 52-39.

Centennial’s Dixon and Malcolm Allen were able to penetrate Cimarron’s 2-3 zone, and often found an open Jones for an easy bucket.

“I told Aaseem, 'You can get inside that zone,’ ” Todd Allen said. “It seemed like he started to go to the basket more (in the second half) and let the game flow a little better.”

Dixon compiled 17 points, eight rebounds and five assists for the Bulldogs.

“In the second half Aaseem let the game come to him, and that really helped us, too,” Todd Allen said. “He might have pressed a little bit in the beginning.”

Centennial did a good job defensively against Cimarron’s inside duo of Erik Brewer and Deijon Spillers. Brewer had 11 points and Spillers scored nine.

“We talked all week, those were the two guys we had to stop,” Todd Allen said.

Christian Brown had 14 points and seven rebounds, and Brewer grabbed 13 boards for the Spartans.