Centre boys lose one, win one
After defeating Hope during the pre-season tournament at Herington, the Centre Cougars were hoping to repeat their performance at home Dec. 17 in their regular season opener with Hope.
However, after a fierce struggle, the Lions got the best of the Cougars, defeating them by a score of 58-54.
In another home game Dec. 20, the Cougars had an easy time defeating Wakefield. The final score was Centre 54, Wakefield 44. The Cougars are 3-2 overall.
Centre vs. Hope
Cold shooting in the first quarter of the game with Hope had Centre down 3-14 when Travis Burns completed a three-pointer with five seconds to go, making the score 6-14.
It was the beginning of a hot streak by Centre which resulted in 11 unanswered points (Justin Garrard, four; Curtis Gutsch, three; Burns, two; and Derek Belton, two) within the first two minutes of the second quarter and a 17-14 lead.
After the two teams tied several times, the half ended with Centre up by one, 26-25.
After a tie of 34-34 in the third quarter, Hope trounced Centre with nine unanswered points, leading 43-34 with 3:42 left in the quarter. The quarter ended with the score Centre 43, Hope 50.
A field goal and free throw by Gutsch in the opening play of the fourth quarter left Centre down only by four. At 3:57, after two Garrard free throws, Centre closed the gap to two, 50-52.
With less than a minute to go and Centre down by one, Burns stole the ball. However, a Gutsch turnover and several Hope free throws produced a disappointing score at the final buzzer of Hope 58, Centre 55.
Four Centre players scored in double-digits: Burns, 17; Gutsch and Garrard, 12 each; and Belton, 11.
Todd Stahlecker and Garrard led rebounding with 10 each.
Centre outdid Hope in free throw completions, 69 percent to 59 percent. Centre completed 37 percent of two-point attempts and Hope completed 41.
The biggest scoring difference was in three-point attempts, as Hope completed four of eight and Centre completed four of 15.
Centre turned the ball over 17 times, compared to two times by Hope.
Individual statistics
Total points: Gutsch, 12; Burns, 17; Aaron Barney, 3; Belton, 11; Garrard, 12.
Two-point field goals: Gutsch 1/3; Burns, 6/12; Barney, 1/7; Stahlecker, 0/5; Belton, 3/8; Garrard, 5/8.
Three-point field goals: Gutsch, 3/6; Burns, 1/3; Barney, 0/2; Stahlecker, 0/2; Belton, 0/1; Garrard, 0/1.
Fouls: Gutsch, 1; Burns, 3; Barney, 2; Stahlecker, 3; Belton, 2; Garrard, 3.
Steals: Gutsch, 4; Burns, 2; Stahlecker, 2; Garrard, 1.
Rebounds: Gutsch, 6; Burns, 7; Stahlecker, 10; Belton, 5; Garrard, 10.
Assists: Gutsch, 8; Burns, 2; Barney, 1; Stahlecker, 2; Belton, 1; Garrard, 1.
Blocked shots: Stahlecker, 1; Garrard, 1.
The junior varsity was defeated by Hope 39-25. Although Hope led the entire way, with quarter scores of 8-6, 15-11, and 23-19, the game was close until the fourth quarter, when Hope exploded, scoring 16 compared to Centre's six.
Andrew Hajek was the leading scorer, with 12 points. Others who contributed points were Tad Remy, seven; and Jeremy Kristek, Trent Hajek, and Steven Hageberg, two each.
Centre vs. Wakefield
The Cougars jumped to an early lead over Wakefield the following Friday and maintained the lead as they rolled over the Bombers. Quarter scores were 19-8, 28-15, 39-25, and a final of 54-44.
Stahlecker was leading scorer, with 16 points, followed by Gutsch, 12, Burns, 10, Barney, eight, Garrard, four, and Bryant Gutsch and Belton, two each.
The junior varsity defeated Wakefield 43-40. Two players were in double figures: Andrew Hajek, 10; Tad Remy, 15. Other scorers were Trent Hajek, six; Bryant Gutsch and Steven Hageberg, four each; and Tim Baker and Vegim Krelani, two each.
The Cougars resume play Friday in a home game with Solomon.
