A late first-half surge helped the Central Plains boys (16-5, 6-2 CPL) to a 64-32 win over Ellinwood (6-13, 2-5 CPL) on Tuesday.
After a bucket from Ellinwood’s Nathan Monday tied the game at 12-12 early in the second quarter, the Oilers answered with a 20-3 run to take a 32-15 lead into halftime.
“We made it a focus for the guys to keep the momentum going,” said Central Plains assistant coach Aaron Gonzalez. “... and that’s what they did. They delivered.”
Central Plains carried the momentum into the second half. A three-point-play from Alex Barton capped off a 10-0 run as the Oilers stretched their lead to 42-15.
The Eagles showed some life, responding to the Oilers’ run with six straight points of their own. A bucket and two free throws from Peyton Duvall followed by a bucket from Nathan Monday cut the lead to 42-21 with 4:30 left in the third quarter.
Tyson Martinez led the Eagles with 14 points. Monday added nine.
Brett Liebl found a bucket at the 4:05 mark to end the Eagles’ run and shift the momentum back to the Oilers. Two buckets from Bryce Miller and another from Liebl were followed by a clutch three-pointer at the buzzer from Barton to give the Oilers a 53-27 lead.
Liebl and Barton led the Oilers with 19 points a piece.
The Oiler defense held the Eagles to just five fourth-quarter points as they cruised to a 64-32 victory.
It was a hot shooting night for Central Plains. The Oilers shot 25-44 from the field and 7-9 from the free-throw line. Defensively, the Oilers forced 19 turnovers and outrebounded the Eagles 28 to 16.
The Eagles struggled offensively, finishing 31% from the field on 11-35 shooting.

Central Plains 64, Ellinwood 32
Central Plains: 10 22 21 11 — 64
Ellinwood: 7 8 12 5 — 32
Central Plains: Barton 19, Hickel: 8, Letourneau 2, Liebl 19, Menges 5, Miller 4, Ryan 6, Schlochtermeier 1.
Ellinwood: Duvall 4, Jacobs 3, Kasselman 2, Martinez 14, Monday 9.