Boys Basketball: Cliff Alexander dominates inside for Curie

Updated: December 10, 2011 11:02PM

CHAMPAIGN — Sophomore center Cliff Alexander scored 23 points as Curie cruised to a 78-54 victory Saturday against Champaign Centennial at the Shootout at the Hall, which was held at Parkland College.

The No. 6 Condors (3-0) jumped out to an 8-0 lead and never trailed.

While the Chargers (3-5) tried to equal Curie’s three-point attack, they did not have an answer for the 6-foot-9 Alexander, who was 10-for-15 from the field to go along with 11 rebounds and three steals.

“These athletes have won over 70 games and lost [fewer] than 10,” Curie coach Mike Oliver said. “The big kid in the middle for the Chargers [Michael Finke] was a good test for Cliff. We have a great inside-outside thing going for us. Our shooters take the pressure off of Cliff.”

Curie guard Marcellis Davis came off the bench to score 13 points on 4-for-9 shooting from beyond the arc, and guards Malcolm Hill-Bey and Devin Foster added 11 points apiece.

“This was exactly like we like to play, inside-outside and up-tempo,” Davis said. “We run a full-court trap and hope our opponents make mistakes.’’

The Condors had their eight-point lead cut to 14-12 in the first quarter before going on a 14-2 run to push the lead to 28-14. Alexander led the charge with an old-fashioned three and a two-handed dunk.

The Chargers pulled to within 10 late in the third quarter, but the Condors used another run to balloon their advantage to as many as 27 in the fourth quarter.

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