“I thought offensively he did a great job to stay aggressive.” Central Mountain head coach Tyler Bardo said when talking about Wells’ performance. “He was really reading the tea leaves well, attacking when we had advantages.”

Friday’s win avenged an earlier season loss to the Bulldogs, a game that JS won 58-45, and in the first quarter the Wildcats came out looking like a team wanting revenge. Central Mountain started off making their first seven three pointers, ballooning out to an early 21-16 lead.

After their hot start CM did start to cool off, as the Jersey Shore defense began to clamp down and they went on a mini run of their own.

Leading the way for the Bulldogs in the first half was starting guard Carson Watkins. Watkins scored ten points in the first half, going five of six from the field in that span. Also notably he would end the night with a game high six steals.

TIM WEIGHT/For the Express Central Mountain's Noah Wells passes the ball during a boys basketball game against Jersey Shore on Friday, Jan. 23, 2026, at Central Mountain. The Wildcats won 60-56.

Watkins was not the only one getting it done on the defensive end for the Bulldogs however, as they also got a major contribution from forward Breylan Guerrero. Guerrero made his presence felt early and often, forcing a litany of turnovers and making some impressive passes on the offensive end to set up teammates in the post.

While Jersey Shore would cut the lead, the Wildcats did a great job keeping them at arms length, as some late scores to end the half from CM guard Dane Hanna made the score 31-26 at intermission.

“Basketball is a game of runs,” Coach Bardo said when talking about Jersey Shore’s run late. “We knew they were going to make them and eventually we started to figure out their pressure and how to attack it.

The second half saw the Central Mountain offense begin to fade, as JS head coach Jon Boob began to employ a full court press to try and push his advantage. The press worked to great success as the Bulldogs would cut it to a one possession game late in the third quarter. But a huge swing came as with just 25 seconds left in the third coach Boob was hit with a technical foul after arguing a foul call, giving Central Mountain some breathing room.

In the fourth the Bulldogs would do their best to cut into the lead, even at one point making it a one score game. But the Wildcats never gave up the lead, going on a late run at the end to make the final score 60-56.

TIM WEIGHT/For the Express Central Mountain's Isah Dorman works against the defense of Jersey Shore's Jacob Lorson during a boys basketball game on Friday, Jan. 23, 2026, at Central Mountain. The Wildcats won 60-56.

After the game coach Bardo talked about how important the win was for a team fighting to stay alive in district playoff hopes.

“It keeps us alive for post season hopes, obviously we have our work cut out for us, but we have to take it one game at a time. I thought we kept ourselves in a good mental space the whole way through where we felt very strong and confident. Hopefully we can carry this onto Midwest and the rest of the season.”

Next up for Central Mountain, they will travel to Midd-West high school to take on the Mustangs. That game will take place on Tuesday at 7:30 p.m.

Central Mountain 60, Jersey Shore 56

JERSEY SHORE (56)

TIM WEIGHT/For the Express Central Mountain's Darius Shade grabs a rebound during a boys basketball game against Jersey Shore on Friday, Jan. 23, 2026, at Central Mountain. The Wildcats won 60-56.

Carson Watkins: 12 points, 1 assist, 2 rebounds, 6 steals, 6/7 ; Landon Lathan: 10 points, 1 assist, 5 rebounds, 4/7 ; Breylan Guerrero: 2 points, 4 assists, 4 rebounds, 1/6 ; Ty McDermit: 5 points, 1 rebound, 2/6 ; Tucker Hanna: 3 points, 5 rebounds, 1/5 ; Khani McCray: 12 points, 2 rebounds, 3/10 ; Jacob Lorson: 12 points, 3 assists, 4 rebounds 3/5 ; Orrin Pennycoff: 1 steal.

CENTRAL MOUNTAIN (60)

Blake Walker: 4 points, 3 assists, 4 rebounds, 1/4 ; Darius Shade: 10 points, 2 assists, 1 rebound ,3/6 ; Noah Wells: 20 points, 2 assists, six rebounds, 6/9 ; Calen Hunter 6 points, 1 assist, 9 rebounds, 2 blocks, 2/6 ; Collin Confer: 3 assists, 0/3 ; Carson Couturiaux: 6 points, 2/4 ; Isah Dorman: 8 points, 1 assist, 2 rebounds, 2/3 ; Dane Hanna: 6 points, 2/3.

Central Mountain 21 10 16 13 60

Jersey Shore 16 10 14 16 56

TIM WEIGHT/For the Express Central Mountain's Collin Confer (23) tries to shoot a layup over Jersey Shore's Ty McDermit (33) during a boys basketball game on Friday, Jan. 23, 2026, at Central Mountain.

TIM WEIGHT/For the Express Central Mountain's Carson Corturiaux takes a contested layup over Jersey Shore's Jacob Lorson during a boys basketball game on Friday, Jan. 23, 2026, at Central Mountain. The Wildcats won 60-56.