By ROWENA PLETT

Staff writer

The “shot of the tournament,” as one fan described it, gave Centre boys their first victory of the season Friday against Lebo in the Herington pre-season tournament.

It happened at the end of the first half. Centre got the ball with just seconds remaining and headed to the other end. Cole Srajer was at the back end of the center circle when he threw up a long shot and the ball swished through the net as the buzzer sounded, eliciting a loud gasp from spectators. The Cougars trailed by one point, 23-22.

Near the end of the close contest, Centre again trailed by 1, 43-42, when Srajer stole the ball, made a basket, and was fouled. He made the free throw, and Centre won, 45-43.

In spite of poor shooting overall, aggressive defense by the Cougars stymied Centre’s opponents in all of its three games. Centre lost in overtime to Wichita Classical 66-63 in the first game and defeated archrival Rural Vista on Saturday, 42-29.

Srajer was Centre’s leading scorer with 55 points for the week. He was followed by Zach Barney with 34. C.J. Thompson and Xavier Espinoza were leading rebounders.

Srajer was named to the all-tournament team.

Girls

Centre girls remained undefeated on the season, 3-0, until Saturday’s 56-26 loss to state-ranked Rural Vista. Centre defeated Wichita Classic 39-29 in the first game of the tournament and defeated Lebo on Friday, 40-36.

In Friday’s game, Centre led 21-17 at halftime. Baskets by Alyssa Espinoza and Emily Schlesener, a 3-pointer by Kelsey Hett, and a free throw by Cailey Barney put Centre up by 9 points at the end of the third quarter.

After a 3-pointer by Samantha Espinoza, Lebo staged a comeback, getting within 3 points. Barney added 4 points, and Hett and Schlesener each made a free throw to give Centre a 4-point victory.

Hett was named to the all-tournament team.