Entering the fourth quarter Friday at the WJOL Thanksgiving Tournament, Providence held a four-point lead over Plainfield Central.

Then, Eli Phillips came alive for the Celtics, scoring 10 of his game-high 19 points in the fourth to help his team to a 55-33 win.

Providence (1-2) led 31-27 entering the fourth, and Plainfield Central (0-3) got a basket from Phoenix Jones (team-high 15 points) to trim the lead to 31-29, and it looked like it would be a battle down the wire.

Then Phillips asserted himself.

The 6-1 junior hit a 3-pointer from the left corner, then delivered a steal and a layup.

After Plainfield Central was whistled for a technical foul, Phillips made both free throws for a personal 7-0 run and a 38-29 lead. The Celtics’ spurt continued with a 3-pointer by Cade Strysky (9 points) and a basket by Luke Rost (7 points) to go up 43-29 before Jones stopped the run with a basket for the Wildcats.

Phillips answered with another 3-pointer from the left corner, and a putback basket by sophomore teammate Jayde Wyett (14 points) put the Celtics ahead 48-31.

“In the first half, we were a little flat,” Phillips said. “In the second half, we picked up our intensity on both ends of the floor. It was definitely the defensive intensity that made the biggest difference. We were able to get some easy baskets off of our defense.

“During that big run we had, I just let the shots come to me. I wasn’t trying to force anything. The shots came in the flow of our offense.”

The Celtics also enjoyed a 45-29 edge in rebounding, including grabbing 22 offensive boards. Strysky and Reece Kras each had eight boards to lead Providence, while Wyett added seven.

Plainfield Central started strong, jumping out to a 7-0 lead on baskets by Ares Collins and Zion Finch and a 3-pointer by Jones. Providence rallied to make it 7-6, but Central ended the quarter on a 5-2 run to take a 12-8 lead at the end of the first quarter.

The Wildcats increased their lead to 18-10 midway through the second, but Providence closed the first half on an 11-0 run, getting five points from Wyett, four from Phillips and two from Kras, to take a 21-18 lead into halftime.

The Celtics upped the lead to 30-20 with 3:45 to play in the third, but Central countered with a 7-0 run, capped by a 3-pointer from Alexis Landfair, to pull to within 30-27 before Rost made 1 of 2 free throws to end the quarter.

“We came out OK and got a lead,” Plainfield Central coach Tim Boe said. “It was the reverse of Wednesday’s game when we fell behind early. But, Providence just crushed us on the glass and they made some timely shots.

“We did a good job of cutting into their lead, but we couldn’t get over the hump and take the lead ourselves. Credit [Providence coach] Tim [Trendel] and his staff. Their kids outplayed us.

“We definitely did some things we can build on, especially on defense. They didn’t really let us get the ball inside very much and that hurt us.”

Providence is now 1-2 after losing its first two tourney games by two and three points.

“Our defensive intensity and offensive execution were much better in the second half,” Trendel said. “A lot of times, your defense can create offense, and that happened for us tonight. We also did a good job of getting into the paint, then kicking it out for an open 3.

“We are still missing our starting center [Cedric Stubbs], who is on the football team, and Kelechi Enyia, who was a 500-point scorer last year as a freshman, is out for the year with a knee injury. Without Cedric, we might seem a little small in the front court, but our guards like Jade Wyett and Reece Kras play bigger than what they are and can get in there and get rebounds.”