Staff writer
The Centre Cougars won the final three games of the regular season, finishing with a record of 12-8.
They played a makeup game Thursday at home against Little River and won, 66-56. They played 2A Chase County Friday in the last home game of the regular season and won, 58-39. In a makeup game Monday at Solomon, the Cougars defeated the Solomon Gorillas, 54-50.
It was parents’ night Friday, and the five seniors on the team — Brian Burhoop, Tanner Brunner, Tyler Klenda, Rustyn Kerbs, and Adam Matz — received special recognition.
As the game began, Burhoop and Brunner got the Cougars off to a flying start with a 10-point run. The first bucket was scored on a save by Matz. Centre led by 5 points, 10-5, after one quarter.
Matz shined in the second quarter with six consecutive free throws — two on a technical — and a steal for a field goal. Burhoop sank two 3-pointers. Trevor Hageberg made two field goals. Kerbs made two free throws early in the quarter and a last-second field goal. Centre led, 33-21, at halftime.
By the end of the third quarter, Centre led by 15 points, 47-32. The Bulldogs got within 12 in the fourth quarter, but the Cougars walked away with a 19-point win.
Little River
Centre played Little River Thursday for the first time as a league rival. The strong, aggressive Cougars proved to be too much for the Redskins.
Six Centre players scored in the first quarter, and three of them were hot from 3-point range. Klenda and Burhoop each made two 3-pointers and Kerbs made one. Matz made three free throws on a 3-point foul. Brunner and Hageberg also scored points. Centre led, 26-12, at the end of the quarter.
The Redskins went on an 8-point run in the middle of the second quarter, but Centre led, 40-22, at halftime.
It was Little River’s turn to be hot from 3-point range in the third quarter. They got within 8 points, 48-40, before the Cougars pulled away again and led, 56-42, after three quarters.
The Redskins did not give up. They started the fourth quarter with a 10-point run to get within 4 points, 56-52. However, two more 3-pointers by Burhoop and a field goal by Hageberg returned the Cougars to a more comfortable lead. They finished the game with a 10-point victory.
Centre shot almost 50 percent from the field and completed 5-of-9 free-throw attempts.
Burhoop led the team in almost all categories with 20 points, 12 rebounds, 8 assists, and 4 steals. Brunner and Hageberg each scored 10 points and had 6 and 5 rebounds, respectively.
Other scoring totals include Matz and Klenda 9 each, Kerbs 5, and Justin Deines 3.
The boys junior varsity defeated Little River, 43-34. Deines was the leading scorer with 17 points. Other scorers were James Wyatt 8, Grant Srajer and Ty Simons 5 each, and Kodey Johnson, Chad Mueller, Kyle Methvin, and Jerami Slayden 2 each. Wyatt led at the boards with 14 rebounds. Srajer had 3 steals and Simons had 4 assists.
Solomon
In Monday’s game against Solomon, the outcome was not certain until the final minute.
Centre built a substantial lead going into the second quarter, but Solomon came back to tie the game and take a 33-28 lead at halftime.
After three quarters, Solomon had increased its lead to 8 points, 42-34, when Burhoop made a 3-pointer that launched a turnaround for the Cougars.
By the end of the quarter, after two field goals by Brunner, Centre had narrowed the gap to 3 points, 44-41.
Burhoop opened the fourth quarter with a 3-pointer, tying the game at 44-44. At the 3:40 mark, Centre finally took a 2-point lead, but the game was tied again at 49-49.
During the final two minutes, Klenda sank a 3-pointer and Brunner made a field goal while Solomon was held to 1 free throw. The result was a 4-point victory for the Cougars.
Centre will play in the first round of the substate next week. The time and place were not available at press time.