CHS boys finish 0-3 at tournament
By ROWENA PLETT
Staff writer
For the first time in several years, the Centre High School Cougars failed to come up with at least one win at the Herington preseason basketball tournament.
They were defeated 59-53 by Herington, 57-47 by Hope, and 84-54 by Northern Heights.
Centre vs. Herington
Prospects for a win looked good as the Cougars headed into the first-round contest Dec. 5 against Herington. They led 11-7 at the end of a slow first quarter.
The Railers gradually gained on the Cougars in the second quarter and tied the game, 16-16 with 4:18 remaining in the half.
Centre trailed 21-25 at halftime.
The Cougars seemed to lose confidence in the second half as they struggled to regain the lead. They got within one point toward the end of the third quarter on a field goal by Alfonse Klenda. They finished down by two, 32-34, after a three-point shot by Zach Slayden.
The Railers' shooting was hot in the fourth quarter. They piled up 25 points, many coming on Cougar turnovers.
Herington led by as much as 11 points before Centre closed the gap to four, scoring 13 free throws and four field goals for 21 points.
But time ran out, and the Cougars lost by six points.
Centre vs. Hope
Turnovers and cold shooting characterized the contest Friday against Hope.
The Cougars fell behind early by 10 or 11 points. Kevin Mueller made a field goal and Bryant Brunner completed a three-pointer halfway through the first quarter to bring Centre within five, 15-20, but that's as close as they got.
Soon after, the Lions scored 13 unanswered points to lead 17-35. The Cougars battled back, coming within 12 points at the end of the third quarter and within 10 as the final buzzer sounded.
Centre vs. Northern Heights
A tall, aggressive, and quick 3A Northern Heights team had no trouble defeating the Cougars.
A cold streak in the second quarter left Centre trailing, 30-47. By the end of the third quarter, they trailed by 30 points.
Centre got more aggressive on the boards in the fourth quarter and matched Height's scoring of 13 points.
Thieen Antoszyk made a splash by scoring two consecutive three-pointers and two field goals.
Kevin Mueller scored a total of 31 points for the tournament, followed by James Weber with 29.
Aggregate statistics
(Centre, opponents)
Free throws: 35-of-57, 38-of-54
Field goals: 43, 67.
Three-pointers: 11, 10.
Total points: Kevin Mueller 31, James Weber 29, Thieen Antoszyk 27, Alfonse Klenda 25, Lance Diepenbrock 15, Zach Slayden 12, Bryant Brunner 7, Thomas Terreault and Ben Krause 4 each.
