Words: Giana Han
The Centennial boys’ basketball team celebrated Senior Night with a 60-40 win over Long Reach High School on Feb. 19.
Five seniors – Chase Conley, Walter Fletcher, Logan Tignall, Matt Ung, and Robert Wilkin – were able win their final home game at Centennial. “We came out more intense,” said Fletcher. “It was our last game, we wanted to end with a bang.”
The Eagles held the lead for the majority of the game and were in front at the end of each quarter. Although the Eagles were up at the end of the first half, they only had a lead of nine points. However, they came out of the half-time break even stronger than before.
“In the second half, we were able to get out and score and transition,” said head coach Chad Hollwedel. “They were playing a fairly tight zone. We opened it up to get shots. We made a concentrated effort on getting inside shots.”
By the end of the game, the Eagles extended their lead to an overwhelming 20 points.
Conley put up eight points, two blocks, and two steals for his last home game of the season, while sophomore Tom Brown contributed 11 points and nine rebounds. Juniors Chad Strothers and Isaiah White led the team in scoring with 14 and 15 points, respectively. Every member of the team contributed, with at least two minutes of playing time for each player.
The gym was decorated to say goodbye to the seniors and celebrate their season. “It was a nice feeling to have my poster there and to walk out with my family. It was a special game,” said Wilkin.
The team was close, according to both Fletcher and Wilkin, and they will both miss their teammates the most out of everything about the season.
“This group of seniors was a hard working group. One through five of these players came to practice with a positive attitude,” said Hollwedel. “They enjoy being around each other and it shows.”
