Centre Cougars disappointed in one-point loss
Centre loses
to White City
The Centre High School Cougars suffered two defeats during the past week. They traveled Friday to Junction City to play the St. Xavier Rams and were defeated, 64-63. In a home game played against White City Jan. 13, they were defeated, 73-65.
Despite the recent losses, Coach Russell Hake is optimistic about his team's chances in the Eisenhower League tournament this week.
"We still feel pretty good about where we're seeded in the tournament," he said. "On our side of the bracket, it looks good. We've lost a couple of tough games in the last few weeks, but we still feel the field is wide open."
Centre vs. St. Xavier
Travis Burns scored Centre's first six points in the game with St. Xavier. A trey by Todd Stahlecker helped the Cougars take a 17-7 lead at the end of the first quarter.
St. Xavier gradually gained on the Cougars in the second quarter despite several treys by Stahlecker. Centre led by three points, 30-27, at half-time.
A surge in scoring, including treys by Aaron Barney and Stahlecker helped the Cougars increase their lead to 13 points, 46-32 with 3:30 remaining in the third quarter.
However, the Rams came storming back. As Centre's scoring turned ice cold, St. Xavier went on a 15-point run and took the lead, 47-46, with a last-second shot at the end of the quarter.
The last quarter was an intense battle, as the lead changed sides several times. The game was tied at 2:18 and again at 1:30.
Burns scored Centre's final five points of the game with a trey and two-point goal. His final two points came on an awkward shot with about eight seconds remaining, putting Centre up by one, 63-62, and causing Centre fans to go wild.
Their glee soon turned to gloom. St. Xavier ran down the court and put up a long shot which failed. However, the ball rolled off the rim and was picked up by another Ram, who put it up and in to give St. Xavier the victory, 64-63.
Stahlecker led scoring, with 20 points including four treys. Burns scored 17 points, including one trey. Aaron Barney had a trey, two field goals and three free throws for 10 points. He also had eight rebounds. Justin Garrard also was in double digits, with 10 points.
STATISTICS
Centre 17 13 16 17 - 63
St. Xavier 7 20 20 17 - 64
Total points: Travis Burns, 17; Aaron Barney, 10; Justin Garrard, 10; Todd Stahlecker, 20; Bryant Gutsch, 2; Daniel Mikolajcak, 4.
Total rebounds: Burns, 6; Barney, 9; Garrard, 7; Stahlecker, 8; Gutsch, 5; Mikolajcak, 2; Andrew Hajek, 1.
Assists: Burns, 4; Barney, 3; Stahlecker, 4; Gutsch, 1; Mikolajcak, 1.
Steals: Burns, 2; Garrard, 1; Stahlecker, 3; Gutsch, 1.
Blocks: Stahlecker, 1.
Personal fouls: Burns, 4; Barney, 3; Garrard, 4; Stahlecker, 2; Gutsch, 2; Mikolajcak, 3.
The junior varsity defeated St. Xavier, 54-47. They led at half-time 35-15. The Rams picked up their play in the second half, scoring 32 points compared to 19 by Centre, but it was not enough to close the gap.
Seth Jirak was Centre's leading scorer with 17 points. Andrew Hajek also was in double digits, with 12 points.
Other scorers were: Scott Peterson, nine; Tad Remy, six; Lance Diepenbrock, three; Thieen Antoszyk, Alfonse Klenda, and Kevin Mueller, two each; and Trent Hajek, 1.
Centre vs. White City
The Cougars maintained a lead over White City throughout the first half. Their biggest lead, 28-15, came on free throws from Justin Garrard and Travis Burns, with six minutes remaining in the second quarter.
But the Huskies gradually picked up their play and tied the Cougars, 35-35, at halftime.
A two-point goal by Todd Stahlecker to start the third quarter put Centre briefly out in front, 37-35, but that was their last lead in the game.
However, the Cougars continued to battle. They were down by seven points, 54-47, at the end of the third quarter, but came within two, 58-56, with 4:22 remaining in the game.
The Huskies scored 15 points compared to nine by Centre in the remaining minutes, to clinch the victory, 73-65.
Stahlecker led scoring, with 19 points. The senior is averaging 20 points per game.
Travis Burns scored 13 points and had seven defensive rebounds. Aaron Barney scored 11 points and had four offensive rebounds and five defensive rebounds. Bryant Gutsch provided four assists, five defensive rebounds, and three offensive rebounds.
STATISTICS
Centre 21 14 12 18 - 65
White City 11 24 19 19 - 73
Total points: Bryant Gutsch, 7; Todd Stahlecker, 19; Travis Burns, 13; Justin Garrard, 9; Aaron Barney, 11; Daniel Mikolajcak, 4; Andrew Hajek, 2.
Assists: Gutsch, 4; Stahlecker, 3; Burns, 2; Garrard, 1; Barney, 1; Hajek, 1.
Total rebounds: Gutsch, 8; Stahlecker, 4; Burns, 8; Garrard, 5; Barney, 9; Mikolajcak, 3; Hajek, 3.
Steals: Stahlecker, 5; Burns, 3.
Blocks: Gutsch, 1; Stahlecker, 1; Burns, 1; Garrard, 2.
Personal fouls: Gutsch, 4; Stahlecker, 2; Burns, 4; Garrard, 4; Barney, 5; Mikolajcak, 1.
The junior varsity defeated White City, 50-41. Centre led all the way with quarter scored of 16-8, 10-8, 11-9, and 13-16.
Seth Jirak scored 16 total points including one trey and five of seven free throw attempts. Andrew Hajek and Tad Remy each scored eight points. Scott Peterson added five, Trent Hajek and Lance Diepenbrock four each, Kevin Mueller, three, and Thieen Antoszyk, one.
