Centralia came out roaring in the first quarter, building up over a 20-point lead, and held on in dominant fashion to beat Rochester in its league opener, 68-40.
“It’s league, all of these games are important,” Tigers coach Kyle Donahue said. “This is a game we have to win.”
And win they did. The Tigers were led by Landon Kaut’s 23 points, eight rebounds, and three assists, but the senior also swatted away shots and forced several early turnovers to help build that huge lead.
Brandon Yeung and Rex Akins also were in double figures with 11 points each. Akins also finished with seven rebounds.
The Tigers (3-1, 1-0 2A EvCo) built up a 41-13 halftime lead, but floundered a bit in the third quarter, as Rochester upped their intensity and outscored Centralia in the third frame.
“We didn’t rebound well in the second half,” Donahue said. “When we have a lead, we can’t foul as much as we did there.”
The Tigers got in foul trouble and the Warriors (1-5, 0-3 2A EvCo) began to capitalize, with Tyler Klatush scoring most of his team-high 19 points in the second half. Sawyer Robbins was also in double-digits with 14 points.
Donahue said that when senior Akins, who commands the floor well and provides a ton of energy, fouled out early in the second half, the Tigers had to figure out how to play team defense without him. The Tigers’ coach said it was good to get that test in the second half, and despite the lopsided result, gave them something to work on in the future.
Centralia will look to keep building in league this season when they head to a much-improved Shelton team next Tuesday, while Rochester takes on Toledo next on Monday.
