Centennial Fends off Lausanne Collegiate, 67-63
The end score was near, but mostly the gap was far out. Centennial (Franklin) knocked off a young, athletic Lausanne Collegiate squad, 67-63.
In the final minute, Lausanne Collegiate junior point guard Ashton Smith knocked down three integral free throws to draw the game to its closest point of the second half, 61-60 Centennial.
Centennial sophomore Tre Carlton converted a layup, 63-60.
Following a questionable out-of-bounds call Centennial, specifically Tre Carlton quickly capitalized by jetting down the floor, dropping off dime to fellow sophomore Dusty Williams.
Franklin Centennial holds off Lausanne. https://t.co/cR6a3eBR9K
— Prep Hoops Tennessee (@PrepHoopsTN) November 22, 2017
Instead of Lausanne running a baseline play down three they found themselves down five points with 20 seconds and ticking. Smith tried to draw another three-foul whistle by kicking his leg sideways, but nobody bit on the ploy.
Carlton closed out the lone Memphis team in the field with two more free throws.
Alden Applewhite (2021) hit a meaningless three-pointer and only an ambitious Lausanne Collegiate timeout separated the Centennial Cougars from a nice W, 67-63.
Problem Areas
Both teams revealed some early season concerns.
Lausanne Collegiate needs more structured offensive possessions. They really feature wonderfully skilled, elusive wings, but too often the wings are left to create out of nothing. It isn’t impossible to create after a teammate throws a high screen for you. Driving lanes were narrow, but utilized by Applewhite and Ashton Smith. The team lacked a low post option much of the game as sophomore Johnathan DeJurnett is still finding his feet at 6-foot-7. He dealt with significant foul trouble all night.
Franklin Centennial lead by as many as 13 points in the third quarter. Lausanne spent significant dead stretches hunting for open shots. They don’t really have the movement off the ball to get open. Most of their offense comes from Alden Applewhite creating or Smith creating in isolation. They are scrappy, but were not really probing offensively.
Franklin Centennial is well coached. They move the basketball well and identify weak spots. Defensively, the team holds their ground well, but need more strength on the glass. Surprisingly, Centennial proved rugged on the offensive glass, but they wilted somewhat on the defensive glass. Some of that comes down to lack of size, but technique can and did go a long way in small spurts.