92.1 KMZA Broadcast - Centralia at Hanover (girls) - click here to listen 
92.1 KMZA Broadcast - Centralia at Hanover (boys) - click here to listen 
 

Fresh off of the Twin Valley League tournament the Centralia Panthers and Hanover Wildcats faced off for the second time this year on the hardwood. The girls contest was a flip of the script from the first time around as Centralia was up early but Hanover came back to win 66-64 in overtime giving the Panthers their first loss of the season. In the boys contest it was all Hanover early as they coasted to the 75-49 win. 

Back and forth early it was Centralia leading 15-12 after the first quarter and the Panthers behind the play of Madison Lueger worked to an 11-point lead in the second quarter and led 34-25 at the half over Hanover. Lueger netted 16 points by intermission hitting three three-pointers and finished the game with a game high 20 points. Hanover came out of the half attacking the basket and worked the game to a 45-45 tie in the third quarter and took their first lead since early in the game at 47-45 with 1:58 left in the third and carried a 53-52 lead into the fourth. The teams traded buckets in a low scoring fourth and Hanover had the ball with less than a minute to go tied at 61-61 but missed a three-pointer and Centralia controlled the rebound. After dwindling the clock down Lueger tried a three-pointer for the Panthers with a few seconds left but came up short and Maegan Koch got an offense rebound and Lueger tried a short range jumper in the paint as time expired and it lipped out to send the game to overtime. 

Both teams hit one field goal in overtime but it was free throws that made the difference for Hanover. The Wildcats led 65-63 in the final seconds of overtime and Centralia had the ball, Katie Glatczak drove to the basket and was fouled earning two free throws. Glatczak made the first but missed the second making it 65-64 and Hanover would sink one free throw with less than two seconds left and a travel as the buzzer sounded ended the game with Hanover getting the 66-64 win coming from behind to win in overtime like Centralia did to them earlier in the season. 

Macy Doebele led Hanover with 18 points and 10 rebounds earning her Community National Bank "Player to Bank On" honors on KMZA, while Riley Doebele who suffered a laceration above her left eye early in the game got stiches and returned to the game to poste 12 points. Ashton Jueneman and Claire Zarybnicky each added 13 and 11 points for the Wildcats who with the win improved to 9-2 on the year. 

Centralia in the loss was led Lueger who scored 20 points her best game of the year, while Cassidy Huafler continued her strong season with 19 points getting 13 in the second half and Morgan Kramer tallied 11 points. The loss is the first of the season for the Panthers who are now 11-1 on the year and saw their 34-game winning streak come to an end. 

The boy’s affair belonged to Hanover and the Wildcats pounced early on Centralia with Michael Jueneman putting on an offensive shooting display to guide Hanover to the 75-49 win at home. Hanover ran out to an 11-4 lead just three minutes into the contest and Centralia called a timeout to corralled the troops but the Wildcats just continued to score and expanded their lead throughout going up 23-10 after the first and 41-23 at the half with Jueneman having 25 points at halftime. The second half was played a bit closer between the two teams but the early hot start by Hanover was too much for Centralia to overcome. 

Jueneman posted a 35-point night hitting seven three-pointers and earned Community National Bank "Player to Bank On" honors on KMZA, while both Adam Zarybnicky and Carter Bruna each contributed 11 points for the Wildcats. The win moves Hanover to 9-2 on the year and they have now won eight in a row after a 1-2 start to the year. 

Centralia with the loss falls to 6-7 on the season and was led by Deagan Steinlage who scored 12 points, while both Kamble Haverkamp and Levi Koch each posted 11 points. 

Both teams hit the court again on Friday, January 27th in TVL play as Centralia hosts Blue Valley and Hanover travels to Wetmore.