Staff writer
The Centre Junior High School Cougars scrambled hard against the White City Huskies Monday on their home court, but were outscored, 28-23.
Centre starters were Grant Srajer, Justin Deines, Kendall Harding, James Wyatt, and Dylan Svitak.
Deines made a layup to begin the game, and Svitak scored four more in the first quarter, which ended in a 7-6 lead by White City.
The Cougars trailed 16-8 near the end of the half, but Harding and Kodey Johnson each made a basket to close the gap to four points, 16-12.
They made more progress in the third quarter as Svitak scored four points and Harding two, compared to four by White City, to get within two points.
However, the Huskies went on a tear in the fourth quarter, stealing the ball several times and scoring eight consecutive points.
Centre didn’t give up but came back to score the final five points of the game on a layup and free throw by Wyatt and another layup by Deines. But it wasn’t enough to undo the damage and prevent the five-point loss.
The team will play Thursday at Manhattan Luckey Junior High School.