Centre loses to Solomon, Hope
By ROWENA PLETT
Staff writer
Centre High School Cougars experienced their second and third league losses of the regular season at home. They were defeated Tuesday by Solomon, 54-46, and Friday by Hope, 60-45.
Dustin Burnett opened play against Solomon with a steal and layup for a two-point lead. The game was tied, 10-10, with about a minute to go in the first quarter when Solomon went on a seven-point run to take the lead, 17-10.
In the first half of the second quarter, Justin Garrard scored nine consecutive points, including a steal for a layup, to tie the game at 19-all.
Two baskets by Tad Remy and a free throw by Garrard put Centre up by three, 24-21. Two baskets by Hope left the Cougars trailing by one point, 24-25, at halftime.
A three-point shot by Burnett in the opening minutes of the third quarter tied the game again, 27-27.
The Cougars struggled to keep up with Solomon. They kept the game close, scoring nine points in the quarter compared to 10 by Solomon.
The struggle continued in the fourth quarter. Turnovers by Centre and good shooting by Solomon gave the Gorillas the edge. Burnett and Seth Jirak each completed a three-point shot, and Burnett and Garrard made several field goals, but in the end Solomon took home an eight-point victory.
The Cougars completed 19 of 59 field goal attempts for 32 percent. Three of 21 three-point attempts were completed for 14 percent.
Garrard had a strong game. The 6-4 center scored 14 points and had 18 rebounds including seven at the offensive end. He also took two charges. Burnett scored 16 points.
The junior varsity was defeated, 46-37. Alfonse Klenda led scoring with 14 points. Kevin Mueller added eight, Lance Diepenbrock four, Jeremy Kristek and Thieen Antoszyk three each, and Bryant Brunner and Tim Baker two each.
Hope
The Cougars started strong against the Lions but lost momentum as the game progressed.
A three-pointer and field goal by Burnett gave Centre an early 5-2 lead. The game was tied at 10-all with just over a minute to play in the quarter. The Cougars were behind by two points, 12-14, at the end of the quarter.
The team fared badly in the second quarter and struggled to put the ball through the hoop. They garnered seven points compared to 17 by Hope, and trailed by 12 points at halftime.
The gap remained unchanged during the third quarter and part of the fourth. Hope scored three more points than Centre in the final quarter to hand the Cougars a 15-point loss.
Hope had three players in double digits. Burnett was far out in front of any other Centre player. He scored 24 points including four-of-four from three-point range. He also had four rebounds and four steals.
Andrew Hajek had six rebounds including three at the offensive end. Garrard provided five blocks.
The junior varsity defeated Hope in overtime, 53-45. They trailed 10-12 at the end of the first quarter but led 23-20 at halftime.
Hope outscored Centre 15-9 in the third quarter to take the lead, 35-32. The Cougars came back to tie the game, 45-45, at the end of regulation play.
Hope's scoring turned cold in overtime. The Lions failed to score, but the Cougars added eight points, including six of nine free-throw attempts by Antoszyk, for the win.
Antoszyk was high-point man with 18 points. Lance Diepenbrock scored 15.
