CHS Cougars defeat archrival Hope
By ROWENA PLETT
Staff writer
Faithful Centre Cougars fans were ecstatically surprised Jan. 9 to see their team defeat the Hope Lions on the road, 53-44. It was the first win against Hope in many matches.
The game pitted Centre's young, first-year head coach, Cody Schafer, against long-term coach Dave Lorson, who has an outstanding win-loss record.
After a 4-2 lead by Hope early on, Centre took the lead and kept it for the remainder of the game. The Cougars led by three points, 13-10, at the end of the first quarter.
Centre's points really began piling up in the second quarter on good shooting by Alfonse Klenda, Zach Slayden, Thieen Antoszyk, Jim Weber, and Kevin Mueller. Altogether, they scored 18 points compared to 11 by Hope. The team led by 10 points, 31-21, at halftime.
There wasn't a lot of scoring by either team in the third quarter, as Hope picked up its defense. Centre held a nine-point lead, 36-27, at the end of the quarter.
Hope made a comeback in the fourth quarter, getting to within four points with less than three minutes to play, but good free-throw shooting by Centre allowed the team to regain some points and finish with a nine-point advantage.
The Lions scored 20 field goals compared to 17 by Centre, but Centre added two three-point goals. Hope was 4-of-9 from the free-throw line compared to 13-of-22 by Centre.
Klenda and Mueller combined to score 33 of Centre's 53 points. Klenda scored 19 and Mueller 14.
Herington
The Cougars were defeated Friday in a non-league game at Herington, 56-50.
Both teams played strong defenses, making inside shooting difficult and keeping scoring low. The slow-paced first quarter ended with Centre down by two, 6-8.
Mueller opened the second quarter with a lay-up to tie the game. In the next possession, Lance Diepenbrock scored a three-point shot to give Centre an 11-10 lead. After two more ties and a late field goal by Weber, the Cougars led, 21-19.
The third quarter proved to be a disaster for the Cougars. They seemed to get out of sync and turned the ball over again and again. This allowed the Railers to take a 23-8 scoring advantage and go ahead, 42-29, by the end of the quarter.
The Railers were deadly at the free-throw line, but two of their tallest players fouled out in the fourth quarter, opening the door for a spirited Cougar rally.
The Cougars went to the line often and completed most of their free-throws to get within two points, 50-52, with 47 seconds remaining in the game. But the Railers quickly followed with two lay-ups, one on a steal, to win by six points.
Weber, a 6-3 sophomore, far out-paced all other Cougars at the basket, scoring 18 points and rebounding the ball seven times, three at the offensive end. He also took a charge. Thieen Antoszyk provided four assists.
Centre entered the Eisenhower League tournament this week seeded fifth, with a record of 3-7 after Friday's game.
