Warriors defeat Cougars in front of full house
Centre High School Cougars and Marion High School Warriors met Feb. 4 at Marion for their annual match-up. They played to a full house.
It was a hard-fought, exciting game, with the outcome in question up until 4:00 in the fourth quarter, when the Warriors pulled ahead by five, and went on to win the game, 67-58.
"It was a good game," said Marion Coach Rex Ostmeyer. "There's a little bit of friendly rivalry between our kids. Marion kids know a lot of Centre kids, and they've played together on various teams over the years."
The Cougars entered the game with a 9-5 record. "We knew that coming in," Ostmeyer said. "We knew they'd want to beat us."
Centre's Travis Burns opened scoring with a three-pointer, and the Cougars stayed in front until 2:20 to go in the first quarter. With Centre down by four, Todd Stahlecker scored a three-pointer. He added a two-pointer at the buzzer, to match a goal by Marion, closing the gap to one, 17-16.
"We were a little rusty at the beginning," Ostmeyer said. "Jason Matz kept us in the game in the first half, and Jared Hett provided the spark that kept us going."
The fight continued in the second quarter. Centre's Derek Belton took a charge but the Cougars were unable to capitalize on it. At half-time, Marion led 30-25 thanks to a last-second lay-up by the Warriors.
The Cougars battled back in the third quarter. A three-pointer by Stahlecker followed by another three-pointer by Curtis Gutsch brought them within two, 40-38, with two minutes to play in the quarter. The score was 43-40 at the end of the quarter.
Gutsch scored three three-pointers and three free throws in the fourth quarter to enable the Cougars to come from behind twice in the fourth quarter and tie the game, but in the final five minutes, the Warriors pulled ahead and won the game, 67-56.
"The bright spot for us in this game was our response in those last few minutes," Ostmeyer said. "During several of our games in the past, we didn't always respond well to pressure.
"Tuesday, when Centre tied us we began to play very, very well and pushed ahead to win," the Marion coach said.
Ostmeyer was pleased with the Warriors' play during the game. "It gave us some confidence that we can win late in a game," he said. "That should get us going for the remaining six games in the league."
Centre completed seven three-point shots compared to one by Marion; however, Marion completed 26 two-point field goals compared to 13 by Centre. Marion outdid Centre at the free throw line, with 12 of 16 compared to 11 of 18.
Gutsch was high-point man for Centre, scoring 20 points, followed by Stahlecker with 15. Other Centre scorers were Burns and Garrard, 8 each, Derek Belton, 6, and Aaron Barney, 1.
marion - 67, centre - 58
Marion — 17 13 13 24 — 67
Centre — 16 9 15 18 — 58
Marion individual statistics
Total points — Brian Bina, 8; Mitch Enos, 2; Jared Hett, 16; Jason Matz, 20; Tyler Stubenhofer, 6; Joel Versch, 10; Alan Vogel, 5.
Rebounds — Bina, 3; Clayton Chamberland, 2; Hett, 3; Matz, 6; Eric Smith, 1; Stubenhofer, 2; Joel Versch, 8; Vogel, 10.
Steals — Bina, 3; Chamberland, 1; Hett, 3; Stubenhofer, 1; Versch, 2; Vogel, 1.
Assists — Bina, 2; Chamberland, 3; Hett, 1; Matz, 1; Matt Rhodes, 3; Stubenhofer, 4; Versch, 4.
CENTRE INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
Total points — Travis Burns, 8; Todd Stahlecker, 15; Derek Belton, 6; Curtis Gutsch, 20; Justin Garrard, 8; Aaron Barney, 1.
Rebounds — Burns, 5; Stahlecker, 3; Belton, 4; C. Gutsch, 4; Garrard, 3; Barney, 2.
Steals — Burns, 2; Stahlecker, 1; C. Gutsch, 1.
Assists — Stahlecker, 3; C. Gutsch, 5; Garrard, 1; Barney, 1.
