Defeated by Hartford 78-66
Staff writer
Playing in the substate semifinals Thursday at Hartford, the first-seed Centre boys (11-9) fell to No. 5 Hartford (7-13), 78-66.
The loss ended the high school basketball careers of seniors Kevin Lewis, Chad Mueller, Kyle Methvin, Tanner Peterson, Ty Simons, Grant Srajer, and Terren Thompson.
The Cougars started strong, finishing ahead 21-16 after one quarter. Ty Simons opened scoring with a shot from outside the arc. He added three more 3-pointers before the quarter ended. Kyle Methvin made four free throws and sunk a trey.
Centre got behind in the second quarter after an 8-point run by Hartford. Conner Montgomery, Jared Barney, and Simons each made a 3-pointer, but Centre trailed by two, 38-36 at halftime.
Hartford began the third quarter with a 10-point run. The Cougars started missing their shots. Despite eight points by Montgomery and a 3-pointer by Dakota Stimpson, Centre trailed by 14 points at the end of the quarter.
The team fought hard in the final quarter but couldn’t catch up. They trailed by as much as 16 points before walking away with a disappointing 12-point loss.
Hartford went on to win the championship, defeating Goessel Saturday 61-31.
Leading scorers for Centre were Simons with 30 and Montgomery with 18. Simons also led on the boards with 10 rebounds.
Individual statistics
Scoring: Simons, 30; Montgomery, 18; Methvin, 6; Srajer, 3; Barney, 3; Stimpson, 3; Nathaniel Engler, 2; Thompson, 1.
2-point goals: Simons, 4 of 13; Montgomery, 1 of 6; Engler, 1 of 2. Methvin, 1 of 2.
3-point goals: Simons, 6 of 7; Srajer, 1 of 8; Montgomery, 4 of 6; Barney, 1 of 4; Stimpson, 1 of 3.
Free throws: Simons, 4 of 5; Montgomery, 4 of 4; Thompson, 1 of 2; Methvin, 4 of 6.
Rebounds (offensive/defensive): Simons, 7/3; Srajer, 3/0; Chad Mueller, 2/2; Montgomery, 0/2; Barney, 0/2; Thompson, 1/2; Methvin, 4/6.
Assists: Simons, 1; Srajer, 1; Mueller, 2; Justin Bina, 1; Stimpson, 3; Methvin, 1.
Steals: Simons, 1; Montgomery, 1; Barney, 1; Thompson, 1; Methvin, 2.