Centre girls lose in overtime, boys win big

By ROWENA PLETT

Staff writer

Centre’s basketball teams staged inspiring comebacks at home Friday against Canton-Galva in the first league game of the season.

The girls rallied to send their game into overtime, only to lose 44-38. The boys overcame a hard time scoring in the first quarter to easily prevail, 55-33.

After trailing 13-8 at the end of the first quarter, scoring from Cody Svoboda, Cole Srajer, and C.J. Thompson and aggressive defense that cut off Canton-Galva’s driving lanes, allowed the boys to tie their game with 3:30 left in the half.

A 3-pointer by Zach Barney preserved the tie at halftime, and from then on, the Cougars were in control.

They shut out the Eagles in the third quarter, adding 15 points, several on steals. Great rebounding, blocks, and steals allowed the Cougars to continue their dominance in the fourth quarter and win by 22 points.

Leading scorers were Srajer with 16 and Svoboda with 14. Thompson and Xavier Espinoza were leading rebounders.

The boys collected another win Tuesday, overwhelming Peabody-Burns 66-25.

Girls kept it close

The girls trailed by just one point at halftime, but were outscored 11-4 in the third quarter. They then returned the favor in the fourth quarter, outscoring Canton-Galva, 13-4.

Kelsey Hett hit two free throws and Kate Basore made a basket to pull the Cougars within 9 before consecutive 3-pointers by Samantha Espinoza, Alyssa Espinoza, and Hett tied the game with a minute left.

After Canton-Galva lost the ball out of bounds with 17 seconds to go, the game went into overtime. But, things didn’t go well for Centre after that. Two girls fouled out, and good shooting by the Eagles resulted in a 44-38 loss.

Leading scorers for Centre were Hett with 12, Basore with 10, and Samantha Espinoza with 9.

The girls were 48-18 winners Tuesday over Peabody-Burns.