Centre boys finish sixth at league tournament
Burnett is high-point man in three contests
The Eisenhower League tournament turned out to be a struggle for the Centre High School boys' basketball team. They lost the all-important first round, which placed them in the loser's bracket.
The Cougars went on to defeat St. Xavier but lost to White City to finish in sixth place.
The first round was held Monday at Hope, where Centre took on the Wakefield Bulldogs.
The Cougars had defeated the Bulldogs the previous week, but this time the game didn't turn out so well.
Play was competitive in the first half, with Centre scoring 25 points compared to 26 by Wakefield.
For some reason, however, the Cougars lost it in the second half and were outscored 19-12 in the third quarter and an incredible 20-7 in the fourth.
The final score was 65-44. Dustin Burnett was the only Cougar in double digits. He scored 18 points.
Centre vs. St. Xavier
The Cougars played St. Xavier Friday at CHS and won, 75-69. With a roster of just six players, St. Xavier put up a valiant fight.
The game got off to a frenzied start as Dustin Burnett sank three three-pointers, Seth Jirak two, and Bryant Gutsch one.
Wakefield made three three-pointers, but Centre led 24-19 at the end of the first quarter.
The game remained competitive but Centre maintained a slight scoring advantage throughout the game to win by six points.
Centre shot 50 percent or 9-of-18 from three-point range. Wakefield completed six three-point shots.
Three St. Xavier players scored in double digits, one garnering 40 points.
Burnett scored a record 33 points, followed by Jirak with 22 and Gutsch with 12.
Centre vs. White City
The Cougars played White City Saturday for fifth place but lost, 61-50.
Centre was down by one, 12-11, at the end of the first quarter, but White City scored a whopping 24 points in the second quarter compared to 11 by Centre to take a 14-point lead, 36-22, at halftime.
The Cougars were not able to close the gap, losing by 11 points.
Burnett once again was leading scorer for Centre, with 15 points. Gutsch had 12 and Jirak 10.
