Centre bested by Marion
The 1A Centre Cougars completed 12 three-point attempts in their contest Jan. 29 with the 3A Marion Warriors. But that was not enough to overcome great inside play by the Warriors, who completed 27 two-point attempts compared to eight for Centre. Both teams were successful at the free-throw line.
After an 11-10 lead by Marion at the end of the first quarter, the Cougars soared ahead to end the first half up by 10. Four players completed three-point shots.
During the second half, Centre didn't fare as well, losing its momentum from three-point range. At the same time, Marion stepped up its inside play and scored five more points than Centre, leaving Marion behind by five points at the end of the third quarter.
With five minutes left to play, the game was tied at 52-52. Marion went on an eight-point run and led 61-54 with three minutes, 15 seconds remaining.
However, a three-pointer by Travis Burns, followed by another by Curtis Gutsch, pulled Centre within one. With less than a minute remaining, two free-throws by Braxton Skiles and a basket by Keith Dudley put Marion up by six.
At :05 on the clock, Stahlecker nailed a three-pointer to bring Centre within three points, 64-67. A foul on Robert Verbic and two free-throws resulted in a final score of Marion 69, Centre 64.
Allen Vogel, Marion's strong post player, led the team's scoring with 18 points, followed by Jason Matz with 14. Verbic and Brian Bina also scored in double digits.
Stahlecker, with five three-pointers and two two-pointers, led Centre's scoring with 20 points. Grant Garrard and Gutsch also added more than 10 points each.
Individual statistics
Scoring: Marion — Vogel, 18; Matz, 14; Verbic, 13; Bina, 10; Skiles, 6; Tyler Stubenhofer, 6; Dudley, 2. Centre — Stahlecker, 20; Garrard, 12; Gutsch, 11; Carmen Mille, 8; Kyle Luna, 6; Burns, 6; Derek Belton, 1.
Fouls: Marion — Dudley, 5; Matz, Skiles, Stubenhofer, 4 each; Bina, Vogel, 3 each; Verbic, 1. Centre — Luna, Garrard, 5; Burns, Mille, Gutsch, Stahlecker, 2 each; Brian Klenda, Darren Hajek, 1 each.
Marion's junior varsity handily defeated Centre 71-49.
The two teams were tied at the end of the first quarter, 20-20, but the Warriors surged ahead in the second quarter, leaving Centre in the dust, 38-24.
Leading scorers for Marion were Jared Hett, 15; James Davis, 13; and Calvin Riggs, 11.
Aaron Barney led Centre's scoring with 20 points. Also in double digits were Eric Peterson, 10, and Justin Garrard, 10.
