Basketball Game Preview: Lawrence Central Bears vs. North Central Panthers

The Lawrence Central Bears are taking a road trip to challenge the North Central Panthers at 7:30 p.m. on Thursday. Both come into the matchup bolstered by wins in their previous matches.

Lawrence Central got their first taste of in-conference action last Friday and they started things off strong. They snuck past Warren Central with a 54-49 win.

Jeremiah Bellamy

Field Goal Percentage

01/23/26 vs Warren Central	86%
01/16/26 vs Pike	33%
01/13/26 @ Beech Grove	50%
01/08/26 vs Hamilton Southeastern	0%

Multiple players turned in solid performances to lead Lawrence Central to victory, but perhaps none more so than Jeremiah Bellamy, who shot 86% from the field to rack up 14 points. Thanks to that strong game, Bellamy now owns an excellent 55.6% field goal percentage. The team also got some help courtesy of Doron Harris, who posted 11 points and four steals.

Meanwhile, North Central earned a 64-51 victory over Avon on Saturday. The win made it back-to-back victories for the Panthers.

North Central's win came from a few key players that Lawrence Central will need to keep an eye on. One of the most notable was Caden Rhodes, who went 7-for-10 en route to 15 points and seven rebounds. David Smith III was another key player, shooting 71% from the field on his way to 14 points.

North Central was working as a unit and finished the game with 14 assists. The team's really been improving in that area: they've now improved their assist total in three consecutive games.

Lawrence Central's record is now 7-8. As for North Central, their record now sits at an identical 7-8.

Lawrence Central came up short against North Central when the teams last played back in February of 2025, falling 72-61. A big factor in that loss was the dominant performance of the Panthers' Antione Watts, who made all 11 shots he took to post 24 points and five steals. Now that the Bears know the damage he can cause, will they be able to stop him this time? Check MaxPreps.com after the match to find out.