Centralia boys fall to South Gray

Topeka Capital-Journal, The, Mar 11, 2007 by Nick Schwien

By Nick Schwien

SPECIAL TO THE CAPITAL-JOURNAL

HAYS - It was within reach.

But the opportunity might have went off the hands of the Panthers - literally.

When that happened, all the fortunate experiences the Centralia boys basketball team had at the Class 1A state tournament went by the wayside.

It eventually led the Panthers to fall in the title game Saturday night to once-beaten South Gray, 45-41.

"We had the luck with us the other night, getting that traveling call late," said senior Kent Burdiek, referring to a turnover forced against Olpe that eventually led to a semifinal win. "This time, we had a pass, but it went right through our fingers."

Most Popular Articles in Business: Research and Markets : Tesco Plc - SWOT Framework Analysis; Do Us a Flavor - Ben & Jerry's Issues a Call for Euphoric New Flavors; eBay made easy: ready to start an eBay business? These 5 simple steps will ...; Katrina's lawsuit surge: a legal battle to force insurers to pay for flood ...; Wal-Mart's newest distribution center opened last month near the southwest ...; More »

It didn't actually go through their hands, but it was close enough.

With Centralia (25-2) trailing 42-41 late in the fourth quarter, South Gray senior Sean Jantz was pressured just shy of mid-court by three Centralia defenders.

Jantz jumped in an attempt to provide more room for his pass to a wide-open teammate down court, but Centralia senior Stratton Bachman met the pass just after it left Jantz's hand.

Waiting to finish off the steal were the two close Panther teammates for the late lead. But the ball bounced off Bachman's hands and right back to Jantz, who quickly called timeout.

"We had the press on, and we knocked the ball loose," said sophomore Ben Steinlage,who finished with 10 points and 12 rebounds. "But we just couldn't get it. It just didn't fall our way."

After the inbound pass, Jantz was fouled and made both attempts for a 44-41 lead with 10.6 seconds remaining.

"We were one steal away," said Centralia coach Larry Glatczak. "That's the way championship games play out sometimes. One play and you're there. Unfortunately, it bounced back into Jantz's hands."

Junior Derek Rempe, who scored 11 points and had eight assists, missed a long 3-point attempt after the free throws, and Jantz found the ball again in his hands.

He made one of two free throws, setting the final margin at 45- 41 - after the senior struggled all night because of a stifling Centralia defense.

"If I have an off night, I know my teammates are there to help me out," said Jantz, who made just 4 of 16 shots while scoring 13 points. "You have to cover other players, not just me."

Jantz proved to be the thorn in the Panthers' side the entire fourth quarter. With the game tied at 35, Jantz made only his second trey of the game with less than three minutes to go.

OLPE 52, GOESSEL 50 - Seth Pargman was at the right place - in just the right time.

The Olpe senior scored on a putback as time expired to lift the Eagles (26-2) to the victory - avenging their only loss before the state tourney.

After Goessel (23-5) tied the score at 50 with six seconds left, Olpe tried to get the ball down low to Pargman, who finished with 20 points. But that option was unavailable, and sophomore Cole Krueger ended up with the ball in his hand.

But Krueger's attempt was off and bounced off the rim, where Pargman was crashing the boards and out-jumped everyone else for the winning tip.

"We wanted to look to get the ball down low to me, but Cole got open and threw it up," Pargman said. "I just crashed in case it was off."

Seniors Jordon Pargman and Drew Pettijohn added 11 and 10 points for Olpe, while senior Travis Buller finished with 12 for Goessel.

Championship

South Gray 45, Centralia 41

Centralia961412-41

South Gray1191015-45

Centralia (25-2) - K. Burdiek 1-10 1-2 3, Bachman 2-5 0-0 5, Steinlage 5-17 0-1 10, Rempe 4-13 0-0 11, B. Burdiek 2-4 1-4 5, Gleason 1-2 0-0 3, Hiltibrand 0-0 0-0 0, Reinecke 2-4 0-1 4. Totals 17-55 2-8 41.

South Gray (27-1) - A. Skinner 1-2 2-2 4, Jantz 4-16 3-4 13, Redger 2-5 2-4 6, Applegate 4-13 5-8 13, Hedlund 1-4 2-7 4, Koehn 2- 3 1-1 5, C. Skinner 0-0 0-0 0, Smith 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 14-44 15-26 45.

3-point goals - Centralia 5-13 (K. Burdiek 0-2, Bachman 1-4, Rempe 3-6, Gleason 1-1); South Gray 2-13 (Jantz 2-7, Applegate 0-2, Hedlund 0-3, Smith 0-1). Total fouls - Centralia 22, South Gray 16. Fouled out - Reinecke, Koehn.

Third place

Olpe 52, Goessel 50

Olpe1092112-52

Goessel11161112-50

Olpe (26-2) - Krueger 2-8 2-2 6, Stueve 0-4 0-2 0, S. Pargman 8- 12 4-5 20, Coble 2-3 1-1 5, Pettijohn 4-9 2-2 10, J. Pargman 4-10 1- 2 11, Hammond 0-1 0-0 0, Schmidt 0-3 0-0 0, Haag 0-2 0-0 0, Klumpe 0- 0 0-0 0, Burenheide 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 20-52 10-14 52.

Goessel (23-5) - B. Goerzen 2-5 0-0 4, Buller 4-9 1-2 12, Voth 3- 7 1-2 9, Hiebert 4-8 3-3 11, Ensz 2-7 2-3 6, S. Goerzen 0-1 2-2 2, Amstutz 2-5 0-0 4, Unruh 0-0 2-2 2. Totals 17-42 11-14 50.

3-point goals - Olpe 2-10 (Stueve 0-1, J. Pargman 2-6, Hammond 0- 1, Schmidt 0-2); Goessel 5-13 (B. Goerzen 0-1, Buller 3-7, Voth 2- 5). Total fouls - Olpe 15, Goessel 11. Fouled out - none.

Featured Download

Speak Like a CEO

Centralia boys fall to South Gray

Topeka Capital-Journal, The, Mar 11, 2007 by Nick Schwien

Find Research Guides for:

Find Featured Titles for: Technology

Most Popular Articles in Business

Most Popular Publications in Business