Cougars hot heading into regional play
Burnett scores 30
to lead team in win
over 2A Chase County
By ROWENA PLETT
Staff writer
The Centre Cougars ended the regular season with a bang, defeating White City Feb. 15, 55-37, and Chase County Friday, 71-53.
A junior transfer at Centre High School, Dustin Burnett of Lincolnville beat his own record and thrilled the home crowd Friday by scoring 30 points against the Bulldogs.
Both teams scored 33 points in the second half, but a strong showing in the first half allowed Centre to win.
Burnett came on strong in the first quarter, scoring 12 points including four field goals and 4-of-4 from the free throw line. The Cougars led 21-13 at the end of the quarter.
The Bulldogs had trouble scoring in the second quarter, adding just seven points compared to 17 by Centre, giving the Cougars an 18-point halftime lead.
Scoring evened out in the third quarter but Centre preserved its large lead. Justin Garrard had two field goals and three free throws in the final quarter, and Kevin Mueller made four free throws to cement the win.
In addition to scoring 30 points, Burnett had five assists, six rebounds, and six steals. Garrard scored in double digits with 13 points including 5-of-5 from the free throw line. He also blocked the ball four times. Bryant Gutsch provided four assists and five rebounds.
The Cougars, with a 7-12 record prior to Friday, faced Hamilton (5-13) Tuesday at CHS in the first round of the tournament.
The junior varsity defeated Chase County, 41-37. The Cougars trailed by two at halftime but picked up their play in the second half to win by four points.
Thieen Antoszyk scored 11 points, including two three-pointers, followed by Alfonse Klenda with nine, and Jeremy Kristek eight.
White City
A strong third quarter helped Centre defeat White City by 18 points.
The two teams were neck-and-neck at the end of the first quarter, but a 13-5 second quarter scoring advantage gave the Cougars a nine-point halftime lead, 27-18.
Good scoring and excellent defensive play led to a 23-9 advantage in the third quarter. Burnett made four free throws after a foul and technical were called on White City. Seth Jirak took a charge and Garrard scored eight points.
The Cougars managed only five points in the final quarter, but walked away with an easy victory.
Four Centre players were in double digits: Burnett 16, Jirak 14, Garrard 12, and Gutsch 11.
Garrard led on the boards with seven rebounds. Burnett provided four assists and Gutsch and Mueller three each. Gutsch had three steals.
The junior varsity won, 49-32. They outscored the Huskies in all four quarters to come up with the victory. Klenda scored 12 points, and Diepenbrock and Mueller added eight each.
