By ROWENA PLETT

Staff writer

The Centre Cougars walked away Friday with a satisfying 60-45 victory over the Hope Lions at home. The victory boosted their record to 5-5 overall.

Centre led the entire game, but the Lions kept it close for much of the way. Centre led, 11-10, after one quarter and 25-21 at halftime.

The Lions were still within three points with less than two minutes remaining in the third quarter, but a layup by Kyle Methvin and two layups by Justin Deines gave Centre a 41-32 lead at the end of the quarter.

Cory Brunzell, Deines, Methvin, and Simons combined for 10 points in the fourth quarter to give Centre a 10-point lead. Grant Srajer made a free throw and Kodey Johnson made four, resulting in a 15-point victory for the Cougars.

Cory Brunzell had his best game ever, scoring 14 points including 12 from beyond the arc. Deines was the high-point scorer with 20 points. Simons scored 11 points; Methvin, 7; and Srajer and Johnson, 4 each.

Deines led on the boards with 10 rebounds, followed by Brunzell with seven and Simons with six. Deines provided four assists, and Houston Svoboda had three. Johnson had five steals.

Little River

The Cougars had a 5-0 start Jan. 8 in a home game against Little River. However, that lead was short-lived as the Redskins exploded for 13 unanswered points and finished the quarter with a nine-point lead.

However, Centre battled back to take a six-point lead in the second quarter. The Cougars led until the final seconds of the quarter, when Little River went on a 10-point run to lead 37-33 at halftime.

Centre got within one-point in the third quarter before the team fell apart. They fell behind, 62-44, by the end of the quarter, and it went downhill from there. The final score was 75-52.

Centre’s top scorers were Simons, 20, and Deines, 12. Methvin led on the boards with 10 rebounds. Johnson and Deines had three assists each.

The Cougars are playing this week in the Cougar Classic tournament at Centre.