Pueblo South wins showdown with Pueblo Central in boys basketball battle

A blistering start and pressure defense took all the drama out of the much-anticipated matchup between two of the state's top Class 4A boys high school basketball teams.

Class 4A top-ranked Pueblo South used a balanced offensive attack and held one of the state's top big men in check en route to a 76-53 South-Central League victory over No. 5 Pueblo Central.

The confrontation took place Jan. 27 at the Southwest Motors Events Center before a crowd of 3,500. It was the first of two meetings between the league rivals. South improved to 17-0 overall and 4-0 in the league while Central dropped to 15-2 and 3-1.

The teams meet again at 8 p.m. Feb. 15, once again at the Events Center.

Here are takeaways from the South vs. Central game:

Quickstart for Colts

A typical fast start enabled South to take control of the game early. The Colts, who average nearly 22 points a game in the first quarter of games and give up less than 10, went ahead 12-5 after one quarter.

Both teams had trouble putting the ball in the basket and securing the basketball. Central managed just two field goals on 14 attempts and turned the ball over seven times. South was just 3 of 13 from the field and had six miscues.

South took full control of the contest early in the second quarter with four straight buckets, two apiece from Tarrance Austin and Ray J Aragon, including a pair of 3s for each. That 10-0 run gave the Colts a 22-7 cushion.

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The lead reached 19 points (28-9) with three minutes to the half after Tarrance Austin converted a 4-point play and Mateo Esquivel added a lay-in. South settled for a 30-15 halftime lead.

"I thought missing some layups early hurt. You make those five layups, it's a closer game at halftime," Central head coach Bob Tyler said. "We have a style of play that doesn't lend itself to beating a team like South. We'll make some changes and correct some things."

X-factors Aragon and Bellah strike

Everyone knows about the Austin brothers of Maurice and Tarrance, who are among the state's leading scorers with more than 23 points a game. But it was Jace Bellah and Aragon who rode their coattails against Central.

Bellah hit a pair of 3-pointers in the first quarter and had six at the break while Aragon had a free throw and added two treys in the second quarter for seven points at the half. Bellah finished with 16, Aragon 14. Tarrance Austin had 16 and Maurice Austin 14, with 13 in the second half to round out the balanced attack.

"I was nervous with everyone here," Bellah said. "We came in confident, and they are a legit top 5 team in the state. We came to play.

"Of course, we have Maurice and Tarrance. When I and Ray can knock down our shots, it makes us even better."

Aragon agreed.

"We had a great game plan and we just executed everything we've done in practice and brought it out to the court," Aragon said.

Central makes a second-half run

The Wildcats came out fast at the start of the third quarter with eight consecutive points to chop the halftime lead to 30-23.

But South ran off 11 points of its own to regain control at 41-23. The Colts were never challenged after that.

Central's Kaydn Betts, a 6-foot-8 junior, finished with 12 points, well under his 23.3 scoring average.

"We take the most pride in our defense," Bellah said. "That's how we win games. We turn defense into offense. We had a great game plan against a great player in Kaydn Betts and executed our game plan."

"Defense is the best part of our game," Aragon said. "A lot of people like to look at our scoring but they don't know how much we keep teams lower than we should."

Statistics don't lie

Both teams entered the game loaded in terms of numbers.

South came in averaging 84.1 points a game, good for third in the state in all classifications. Central was right behind with an 81.0 average, fifth in the state.

Additionally, the teams were Nos. 1 and 2 in assists, with the Colts averaging 24.0 per game, Central 22.1 per contest. And the most glaring stat: Central has averaged 23.4 steals a game, best in the state in all levels, with South right behind at No. 2 with 22 per game.

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Chieftain senior sports reporter Jeff Letofsky can be reached by email at jletofsky@chieftain.com or on Twitter @jeffletofsky.

This article originally appeared on The Pueblo Chieftain: Pueblo South runs away from Pueblo Central in boys basketball showdown