The Centennial boys’ basketball team needed overtime to get past Malcolm Dec. 29 in the first game of the Malcolm Holiday Tournament, but the Broncos couldn’t hold the momentum against Auburn in the championship game Dec. 30.
CHS led Malcolm 26-16 at halftime, holding the Clippers to just three points in the second quarter. Malcolm outscored the Broncos 27-17 in the second half.
“It was a good win on the road against a quality team,” CHS Coach Cam Scholl said.
The Clippers tied the score at 36-36 with 3:24 to play in the game and took a one-point lead with 2:58 to play. A Sam Ehlers triple put the Broncos back in the lead 41-39 with 1:05 to go, but Maddox Meyer knotted things back up with 47.2 seconds left.
Preston Kucera gave Malcolm the lead 43-41 on a driving layup 12 seconds later. CHS’s Bryson Hornbacher retied the score 43-43 on a putback with four seconds left in regulation to force overtime.
Centennial outscored Malcolm 10-6 in the extra period to get the win.
“I thought in the first quarter we didn’t defend well enough,” Scholl said. “There was not a sense of urgency.”
He said the Broncos turned the ball over too much, finishing with 13 in the game, and didn’t rebound as well as usual.
“Turnovers were a big factor. We got fatigued, and their pressure had something to do with that,” Scholl said.
Devin Slawnyk and Alex Hirschfeld led the offense with 16 and 12 points, respectively. Slawnyk added nine rebounds, and Hirschfeld delivered four assists, as well.
Everyone contributed to the win, however, Scholl said. Ryan Richters played good defense, Camden Winkelman provided good minutes off the bench, and Ehlers hit big free throws in overtime, the coach said.
“I was pleased with the win, especially off the five-day break,” Scholl said.
The victory put the Broncos in the tournament championship game against Auburn, and the Bulldogs ran away with a 59-27 victory. The loss snapped a five-game CHS winning streak.
“They are a really good team,” Scholl said. “(Maverick) Binder is the real deal. He’s one of the best we’ll see all year. And they have nice pieces to go with him.”
Auburn led 17-11 after the first quarter and then held CHS to single digits in the second, third and fourth periods.
“Auburn needed to miss from the perimeter,” Scholl said. “They hit five threes in the first quarter, and they made us pay for our mistakes.”
The Bulldogs’ pressure was something the Broncos don’t see a lot of and can’t simulate in practice, he said.
Slawnyk was one rebound away from a double double with 12 points and nine boards.
The Broncos (6-3) are next in action Friday, Jan. 5, at Sutton and Saturday, Jan. 6, at home against Raymond Central. Saturday’s game is set to start at 4:30 p.m.
Scholl said Sutton is a tough, well-coached team. Raymond Central is more perimeter-oriented.
“We need to worry about us this week,” he said.
