It had been nearly 20 years since Richmond and Centerville had met in boys basketball—last played on Nov. 27, 2004.
On Saturday, Jan. 20, that changed when the Centerville Bulldogs accepted an invitation to travel to the Tiernan Center to face the Richmond Red Devils. In the last meeting between the two schools, which are less than seven miles apart, the Red Devils came out on top 67-53. The Red Devils went on to finish 18-4 that season, while the Bulldogs finished 20-4 and won their sectional.
In their meeting on Saturday, the 4A ninth-ranked Red Devils were coming off their first loss of the year and looking to return to the winner’s column. The Wayne County Champion Bulldogs were coming off a win over Connersville in the Spartan Bowl. The ‘Dawgs were looking to add to their five-game win streak and shock basketball fans around the state with a win.
It was the Red Devils who met their objective. The Red Devils used a disruptive defense and an aggressive offense to build an early lead, then added to their lead in every quarter. Playing before a near sellout crowd the ‘Devils raced to a 13-3 advantage, leading to two Centerville timeouts in the first six minutes of the contest. The ‘Dawgs could not break through the Red Devils’ interior defense and settled for two 3-pointers as the ‘Devils built a 19-6 lead at the end of the first quarter, fueled by 8 points from All-State candidate Cedric Horton.
The second quarter was more of the same. Mason Carpenter scored 9 points in the period, and much to the delight of the Red Devil fans, Ryder Cate made his first game appearance since the Wettig Tournament and scored twice. By halftime the Richmond lead had ballooned to 42-14.
Braiden Hogg led Richmond scoring in the third period with 11 points. The score after three quarters was 59-23. The margin triggered a running clock in the fourth quarter.
Both teams cleared their bench in the final period as the Red Devils coasted to the win.
Carpenter led the Red Devils with a game high of 18 points. Horton scored 17 points and Hogg scored 15 points. Shea Hollendonner led the Bulldogs with 13 points, and Trevor Thornburg scored 12 points.
Richmond (17-1) 19 23 17 12 71
Zion Deloney 3, Carpenter 18, Hogg 15, Horton 17, Julien Smith 6, Gavin Haynes 2, Deante Smith 0, Cate 4, Jayden Shipp 0, Jaiden Holland 0, Lanier Smithson 0, Javon Vecera 4, De’Arieum Hicks 2 — Total 71
Centerville (8-8) 6 8 9 7 30
Landyn Keiser 0, Ethan Vecera 3, Hollendonner 13, Nate Dickenson 0, Thornburg 12, Daniel William 0, Bryson Brown 0, Joe Martin 0, Keith Plyley, Jr, 0, Kaden McCord 2 — Total 30
A version of this article appeared in the January 24 2024 print edition of the Western Wayne News.