CENTERBURG — The Centerburg High School boys basketball team ran into a red-hot Heath team on Tuesday night. The previously unbeaten Trojans couldn’t seem to find a rhythm and Heath cruised to an easy 89-62 victory.
“Anything [Heath] did tonight, they did right,” said Centerburg head coach Jim Simpson. “Everything went right for them and everything went wrong for us. Heath outplayed us tonight. We didn’t come to play like I thought we would, and it showed.”
Heath (4-2) started out quick and grabbed an early edge in the first half with its high-scoring offense. By working the inside, the Bulldogs were able to open up the long range shot and they repeatedly sank three-point shot after three-point shot. Heath finished with 11 three-point shots by the time the game was over. Centerburg (5-1) players were left shaking their heads.
“Heath is a good team,” said coach Simpson. “Their shots went in and they had big plays. We knew coming in they were going to be good.”
Heath continued the scoring clinic in the second half and it seemed as if the Bulldogs couldn’t miss. They built a 34-point lead at the end of the third quarter when both teams sent in their second squads.
“We had a lack of intensity and desire tonight,” Simpson said. “Our effort really wasn’t there. I don’t know what it was with our guys tonight. Everything that could have gone wrong tonight, it did.”
If the Trojans can take one good thing from a game like this, the team was solid from the free-throw line. They shot 22-of-24 from the charity stripe, but unfortunately for them, they couldn’t take all their shots from there.
Centerburg was led by Brandt Lambert, who scored 18 points. Sophomore Drew Osborne added 12 points, and Skyler Simpson scored 11 points. Heath saw five different players reach double digits in the game. The Bulldogs were led by Trey Mathews, who scored 14 points.
In junior varsity play, Centerburg gave formally undefeated Heath it’s first loss of the season. Centerburg’s Lyle Lindsay led the way with a strong 17-point performance. Devon Moreland chipped in 13 points.
Centerburg also won the freshman contest, beating Heath, 41-30. Chase Cochran led the way with 10 points.
Centerburg now has to recollect itself as it moves into the holidays. The team will only get a few days off before it is back to the grind of the Mid-Buckeye Conference regular season.
“We have a couple days off but we have to get right back at it,” said Simpson. “We have a game on Monday night. Hopefully this one hurts a little bit and they decide they are going to come back harder and get something done.”
