Centennial's Cooper Gierhan brings the ball down the court as Noah Twohig of Malcolm defends Dec. 29.
Wyatt Ehlers of Centennial drives into Malcolm's Dylan Johnson on his way to the basket Dec. 29.
Jack Hirschfeld of Centennial grabs the loose ball as Kyle Henson of Malcolm and Caleb Horne of Centennial watch the play.
Caleb Horne of Centennial (right) and Devyn Beekman of Malcolm (left) scramble for a loose basketball during the Malcolm Booster Holiday Tournament championship game.
The Centennial boys' basketball team was the champion at the Malcolm Booster Holiday Tournament. Team members are, from left: (front row) Caleb Horne, Will Saunders, Jack Hirschfeld, Wyatt Ehlers, Ian Schlueter and Haden Richters; and (back row) Michael Fowler, Nate Hanneman, Joel Bargen, Andrew Wellman, Jake Bargen and Cooper Gierhan.
Centennial brought home the top hardware from the Malcolm Booster Holiday Tournament Dec. 29, beating Malcolm 43-28 in the championship game.
“You’re never unhappy with a 15-point win on the road,” Coach Cam Scholl said. “It was a good deal for the kids.”
Malcolm played a good zone defense, Scholl said, and that led to some stagnant offense in the second quarter. The Centennial defense also played well, however, holding Malcolm to 14 points in each half.
Jack Hirschfeld scored 19 points to lead the Broncos. Cooper Gierhan scored 11.
The Broncos beat Oakland-Craig 54-39 in the tournament opener. CHS led 25-24 at halftime, but Scholl said the team didn’t handle the Knights’ pressure well.
“Once we settled down, we took advantage more,” Scholl said. “We defended really well, especially in the second half.”
Three Broncos scored in double figures – Gierhan with 16, Caleb Horne with 15 and Hirschfeld with 13.
Scholl said having Gierhan back from injury makes the team deeper and takes it to a different level.
Up next for the Broncos (8-1) is a home game against Sutton Friday, Jan. 4. Sutton is a big, physical, tough team.
“We will have to be at our best to win,” Scholl said.
CHS travels to Raymond Central Saturday, Jan. 5.
