Lawrence Central used 22 points from Kyle Guy and late free throws by Mehki Biffle to defeat Lawrence North 63-62 on Wednesday. It was a stellar early season game between two teams that have high hopes for the 2015-2016 season.

Lawrence Central and Lawrence North have a township rivalry like few others around Indiana. It was no different Wednesday when the Lawrence Central gym was packed midway through the junior varsity game. The atmosphere was great throughout the night.

Lawrence North started the game in a zone defense and they stayed in it the whole game. They did a good job early in the game of tracking Kyle Guy although they were in a zone. Guy was held to just two point in the first period.

Sophomore forward Kevin Easley started fast for Lawrence North. He hit a three then followed it up with a step back from 18 feet that left his defender on the ground. Easley finished with 11 points in the game.

That changed a bit over the next two quarters as the pace increased. Guy tallied nine points in the second period, but he was doing more of the ball handling and overall play making on the offensive end for Lawrence Central.

KJ Davis gave Lawrence Central a spark off the bench in the second period as well. The junior guard that was previously at Lawrence North scored five points in the quarter and helped turned the momentum.

Mehki Biffle was scoreless in the first half, but he opened up the third quarter with an “and-1” at the basket. Kyle Guy knocked down two triples and Lawrence Central opened up some breathing room.

Senior guard Jaylen McKay and sophomore Antwaan Cushingberry stepped up their games to keep Lawrence North within striking distance. Cushingberry played really well in the second half for North.

Guy and Cushingberry were trading baskets halfway through the final period. Cushingberry scored 11 points in the fourth quarter on his way to 21 points in the game. Guy was saddled by four fouls in the fourth period.

Biffle stepped up for Lawrence Central down the stretch. He scored nine points in the fourth including five of six from the free throw line.

In the fourth quarter, Lawrence North struggled to make free throws outside of Cushingberry. They could have been much closer or in the lead if they knocked down all of their free throws.

The final two minutes were really crazy. It started when Guy took some contact and lost the ball while bringing it up. The officials ruled that there was no foul and McKay picked up the ball for a steal and finished with a dunk. That cut Central's lead to two points.

It looked like Lawrence Central was going to recover and seal the game from the line after Biffle knocked in two free throws. Instead, Ethan Jarrett took the ball coast to coast to score within seconds which cut the LC lead back to two.

Biffle was navigating pressure and lost the ball when he went behind his back. In the scramble for the lose ball, Kyle Guy committed his fifth foul to disqualify him. It sent Jarret to the line with a chance to tie and Lawrence Central's best player was out of the game.

Jarrett made both pressure free throws to tie the game at 62 with just over 40 seconds remaining.

Lawrence Central milked the clock down before calling a time out. LC coach Al Gooden put the ball into the hands of Biffle. He attacked the basket and drew a body foul on the baseline with 10.6 seconds remaining. Lawrence Central was in the double bonus at this point.

Biffle missed the first foul shot before making the second to put LC up 63-62.

Lawrence North had a couple of really good chances to win the game in the waning moments. First, Morehead State signee Djimon Henson was able to get a clean look at a three pointer from the left corner. That rimmed off. McKay grabbed the rebound after it bounced off the hands of a few players. He had a chance at an eight foot shot but that too was off the mark.

Lawrence Central moved to 3-0 while Lawrence North dropped to 0-2.

Lawrence Central – Kyle Guy 22 points (6-11 FG, 4-7 3FG, 6-6 FT), Mehki Biffle 14 points (4-11 FG, 0-2 3FG, 6-7 FT), 7 rebounds, 4 turnovers, Tyrelle Walker 11 points, KJ Davis 7 points, Nash Griffin 3 points, Daveon Bell 2 points, Eric Easter 2 points, Ben Resner 2 points, Gary Gillard 2 rebounds

Lawrence North – Antwaan Cushingberry 21 points (5-9 FG, 2-3 3FG, 9-10 FT), 3 steals, 3 turnovers, Kevin Easley 11 points (4-12 FG, 1-6 3FG, 2-2 FT), 4 rebounds, Jaylen McKay 8 points, 4 rebounds, Ra Kpedi 7 points, 6 rebounds, Djimon Henson 7 points, 6 rebounds, Ethan Jarrett 4 points, Wesley Bender 4 points, 3 rebounds, Dexter Shouse 1 steal