Centre Cougars end season at regional
By ROWENA PLETT
Staff writer
Five seniors — Bryant Gutsch, Dustin Burnett, Tad Remy, Brent Potocnik, and Jeremy Kristek — played their last basketball game for Centre High School Thursday in the 1A regional tournament at Burrton.
The Cougars played top-seeded Olpe and were defeated, 38-63.
Burrton had a 10-6 lead in the first quarter when Alphonse Klenda made two consecutive field goals to tie the game at 10-all.
A promising beginning soon turned cold as Olpe pulled ahead in the second quarter on poor shooting by Centre. The team scored just six points, and Olpe led 25-16 at halftime.
The second half opened with a 10-1 run by Olpe, leaving Centre in the dust. Field goals by Klenda, Gutsch, and James Weber brought the Cougars back to within 15 points but a basket and a trey by Olpe in the last minute of the quarter put them up by 20 points.
Not much changed in the fourth quarter, as Olpe tacked on five points to its already considerable lead, outscoring Centre 18-13 to win by 25 points.
Dustin Burnett, who averaged more than 18 points in 21 games during the regular season was held to just four points. Klenda led scoring with 14 points.
The Cougars ended the season with a record of 6-9 in the Eisenhower League and an overall record of 8-14.
