Centre Cougars thrill homecoming crowd
Centre Cougars got off to a roaring start Friday in their contest with the St. Xavier Rams of Junction City. They scored seven unanswered points in the first four minutes of the game.
After St. Xavier made a free throw, Justin Garrard completed a three-pointer to make the score 10-1. The Rams came back with scores of their own, and the first quarter ended with Centre ahead 14-9.
The Rams outscored the Cougars 12 to 10 in the second quarter, coming within three points, 24-21, at the end of the half.
In the second half, the Cougars really got going. In a fast pace up and down the floor and with several steals and setups, Centre jumped ahead 33-23.
A defensive press worked to the Cougars' advantage, and they were up by 13 points at the end of the third quarter, 50-37.
During the fourth quarter, Todd Stahlecker shot a three-pointer and added two after a steal, making the score 57-43 after two minutes of play.
Centre's aggressive style of play resulted in a lot of fouls. Garrard fouled out. Fortunately, St. Xavier missed a lot of free throws, although the Rams got within eight points toward the end of the game.
The Cougars poured it on in the last few minutes and won by a score of 69 to 56.
Travis Burns shot 66.7 percent from the field and was leading scorer with 22 points. Curtis Gutsch and Aaron Barney also were in double digits with 11 points each.
Individual statistics
Points: C. Gutsch, 11; Andrew Hajek, 2; Burns, 22; Barney, 11; Bryant Gutsch, 3; Stahlecker, 9; Derek Belton, 4; Garrard, 7.
Fouls: C. Gutsch, 3; Hajek, 2; Burns, 1; Barney, 1; Stahlecker, 4; Belton, 4; Garrard, 5.
Free throws attempted/made: Burns, 3/2; Barney, 2/1; Stahlecker, 4/2; Garrard, 2/2.
Two point goals attempted/made: Garrard, 10/1; Belton, 4/2; Burns, 14/10; Stahlecker, 9/2; C.Gutsch, 7/4; Barney, 8/5; Hajek, 2/1.
Three point goals attempted/made: Garrard, 2/1; Belton, 1/0; Burns 1/0; Stahlecker, 4/1; C. Gutsch, 3/1; Barney, 3/0; B. Gutsch, 2/1.
Assists: Burns, 3; Stahlecker, 5; C. Gutsch, 7; Barney, 1.
Rebounds, defensive/offensive: Garrard, 4/1; Belton 2/2; Burns 3/3; Stahlecker 2/1; C. Gutsch 6/3; Barney, 2/1; Hajek, 1/1.
Steals: Garrard, 1; Belton, 1; Burns, 2; Stahlecker, 5; C. Gutsch, 2; Barney, 3; B. Gutsch, 2.
Blocks: Barney, 1.
Turnovers: Garrard, 1; Belton, 2; Burns, 2; Stahlecker, 1; C. Gutsch, 3; Barney, 1; B. Gutsch, 2.
Charge: Belton, l; Burns, 1.
B team
The junior varsity defeated St. Xavier 44-41.
Bryant Gutsch had 14 points, followed by Andrew Hajek with 13. Other scorers were Tad Remy, seven; Trent Hajek, six; and Chris Callahan and Nathan Brunner, two points each.
