Cougars continue downhill slide
By ROWENA PLETT
Staff writer
The Centre Cougars dropped a pair of games the past week, losing to Solomon, 67-56, and St. Xavier, 87-72, increasing their losing streak to six.
After defeating Solomon earlier in the season, the Cougars have fallen to the Gorillas twice since then.
In the game played Feb. 8 at Solomon, the team's scoring was up and down. They were behind 17-11 at the end of the first quarter but outscored Solomon 17-13 in the second, to close the gap to two points, 28-30, at halftime.
They fell farther behind in the third quarter as they were outscored 17-11. Despite a strong 17-point fourth quarter, they trailed Solomon by 11 points when the final horn sounded.
Seth Jirak had a strong game, scoring 18 points including four three-point and three two-point goals. Dustin Burnett scored 15 and Justin Garrard 13. Burnett also provided four assists and three steals.
Jirak led at the boards with eight rebounds, followed by Bryant Gutsch with five.
St. Xavier
The Cougars battled a tall, experienced St. Xavier team Friday in the homecoming game.
They struggled to keep up with the Rams, but the closest they got was two points toward the middle of the first quarter. They ended the quarter down, 13-21.
After getting within four at the beginning of the second quarter, they lagged behind by as much as 12. Burnett, Trent Hajek, and Jirak scored field goals to close the gap to six, 31-37, at halftime.
With three and a half minutes to go in the third quarter, Jirak sunk a three to bring the Cougars within three, 43-46, but St. X answered with three consecutive field goals and two free throws to increase the lead to 10 points.
The Cougars were down by 14 points at the end of the quarter and the gap widened during the fourth as the Rams took it to them. They continued to fight back but walked away with a 15-point loss.
Burnett led scoring with 24 points. He completed 1-of-6 from three-point range, nine two-point goals, and was 3-of-5 at the free-throw line.
Garrard and Jirak scored 15 points each, and Jirak had 10 rebounds. Andrew Hajek, Burnett, and Gutsch provided four assists each. Tad Remy stole the ball three times and Garrard blocked it twice.
The junior varsity defeated St. Xavier, 66-19. It was no contest, as the Cougars took a 14-7 lead after the first quarter and continued to gain on the Rams throughout the game.
In an impressive 22-point fourth quarter, Lance Diepenbrock scored 11 points. He led scoring for the game with 17 points. Alfonse Klenda scored 14 and Kevin Mueller 10.
