Teams always hate to see a Twin Valley League team when it comes to the State tournament as they know even if they are able to earn a win it will be a tough battle. The Centralia Panthers who upset Doniphan West in the Sub-State Championship came into Class 1A-DI State Tournament in Hays as the seven seed looking for another upset and accomplished that with a 60-59 win over Osborne. 

Up 5-0 early Osborne saw Centralia tie the contest at 5-5 but the Bulldogs ended the first quarter on an 11-0 run and led 16-5 after the first quarter. The lead grew to 22-7 for Osborne early in the second quarter but Centralia didn't go away going on a 7-0 run to be down by just six and then turned that 7-0 run into a 12-2 run to finish the first held and trail just 27-19 intermission. 

Centralia continued to chip away at the Osborne lead in the second half drawing close several times and then taking their first lead on a Trenton Flentie buzzer beating three-pointer to end the third quarter giving the Panthers a 42-41 lead. The lead changed hands multiple times early in the fourth quarter but the Panthers went up 60-59 and after a Osborne turnover had the ball with 11.9 seconds left. Panthers dwindled clock but turned the ball over with four seconds left giving Osborne a chance and the Bulldogs got a running layup at the buzzer that came up short and Centralia won 60-59. 

The win moves Centralia into the 1A-DI Semifinals on Friday, March 9th at 8:15pm against fellow Twin Valley League school in Hanover. Panthers improved to 16-9 on the season with the win and were led by Daegan Steinlage who scored 18 points earning Citizen's State Bank & Trust Company "Player to Bank On" honors on KNZA. Nathan Rempe and Trenton Flentie each chipped in 12 points for the Panthers, while the Panthers went 11-17 from the free throw line (11-15 in second half).  

Panthers finished the 2016 State tournament with a win over Osborne and open the 2018 State tournament with a win over the Bulldogs and will continue the action against Hanover on Friday; the game will be broadcasted on 92.1 KMZA.