SPRINGFIELD — Catholic Central got a 51-48 win over Lehman Catholic on Saturday at Jason Collier Gymnasium in a nonconference game that was close from the start.

With a 48- 48 tie, Catholic Central guard Trey Dunn was fouled by Lehman’s Brendan O’Leary. Dunn made one free throw to give Central a lead. Lehman called a timeout and then promptly turned the ball over.

Central’s Sabien Doolittle was fouled with seven seconds left and hit both ends of a 1-and-1 for a three-point Central lead. Lehman’s Bryce Kennedy tried a long 3-pointer at the buzzer, but it was off target.

“At the end we actually got the shot that we wanted but it was just off,” Lehman coach Tim Gleason said. “Bryce was on for us tonight. So far he has had a great season and works hard to excel. This was a tough weekend for us as we lost last night also to Marion Elgin in overtime.”

Kennedy finished the game with 14 points (including four 3-pointers) and had five rebounds. He hit three 3-pointers in the second quarter to help Lehman build a 30-23 lead.

“Our offense was getting good shots and we were hitting them,” Gleason said of the Cavaliers’ first half lead. “The kids all played hard and aggressive tonight. I am very proud of the effort that they gave tonight. Defensively our zone on D was causing Central problems and things looked good with our lead.”

Catholic Central (5-1) was led by Doolittle, who scored 14 points along with seven rebounds. He took over the game while Catholic Central got their lead in the forth quarter.

Doolittle’s floor play along with guard Trey Dunn proved too much for Lehman (1-3, 0-1 Northwest Central Conference) to handle. Both players combined with nine points in the fourth quarter, including seven by Doolittle.

Lehman still had a six-point lead as the fourth started, but a three-point play from Doolittle and a basket from Dominic DeWitt tied the game up just one minute into the quarter.

DeWitt ended up scoring eight points and had two rebounds. He scored a basket that gave Central a 44-41 lead, which they never relinquished.

Jacob Woeber scored six points and had three rebounds for Central, but foul trouble hampered him and he had to sit for awhile. Dunn scored nine points along with several assists. Junior forward Peyton Harris had four points and three rebounds. He hit two big foul shots down the stretch to help Central keep the lead.

Lehman senior forward Kameron Lee netted 11 points and had eight rebounds.

“He’s another kid who has done what we ask from him,” Gleason said of Lee. “We lean on him to score. He likes the 3-ball and can hit it too.”

Junior guard Elloitt Gilardi played a sound game from his spot on the perimeter with 10 points, six of which came in the third quarter.

The Cavaliers will return to action on Wednesday at Minster.