Cougars advance to regional semi-finals
Burnett leads
with 34 points
By ROWENA PLETT
Staff writer
The Centre Cougars surprised some people Monday by defeating Burrton in the first round of the 1A regional tournament.
Burrton, with a record of 11-8 were fourth seed and playing on their home court. Centre was fifth seed with a record of 7-12.
The Cougars got off to a 7-0 start with field goals by Kevin Mueller and Tad Remy and a trey by Dustin Burnett.
Centre led 16-9 at the end of the first quarter.
Burrton pulled to within four points in the second quarter, but the Cougars pulled away and led 32-20 at halftime on a last-second three-pointer by Bryant Gutsch.
Burnett opened the third quarter with another three to give Centre a 15-point lead. Seth Jirak made two free-throws and then sank a last-second three-pointer to make the score at the end of the third quarter, 49-33.
The Cougars increased their lead to 20 points in the fourth quarter. Burrton responded with a five-point run, but Centre began playing the clock. Burnett scored six more points during the final minutes, four on free throws, and the Cougars walked away with a satisfying 16-point win.
Burnett scored 15 points in the first half and added 19 in the second to lead scoring with 34 points. He was the only Cougar to score in double digits.
The Cougars will play top-seeded Olpe (14-4) at 6 p.m. Thursday in the semi-finals. If they win, they will play at 7:30 Saturday in the championship game. A Thursday win would allow them to advance to sub-state regardless of the outcome of Saturday's game.
Go Cougars!
