The Centralia Panthers opened their 2020-21 high school basketball seasons Tuesday night on the road at Wetmore who entered 3-0 on both the girls and boys sides but it was the guest Panthers who came out on top in both contests winning the girls game 39-35 and the boys 49-41.

GIRLS: Centralia 39, Wetmore 35

The girls game was back-and-forth throughout with Wetmore taking an 11-8 lead after the first quarter behind eight points from junior Kenzie Strathman who knocked down a pair of triples.

Centralia responded though in the second quarter and took a 22-21 lead going into halftime as junior Avery Deters notched six points in the quarter and eight points total in the first half.

In the third quarter both teams struggled mightily offensively combining for nine total points as Centralia led 27-26 going into the fourth.

The Panthers then made clutch free throws down the stretch as Deters was 5-of-8 in the fourth from the line while senior Avery Mars knocked down both of her foul shots.

Deters finished with a game-high 17 points for the Panthers including nine in the fourth quarter to earn Player of the Game honors on 92.1 KMZA while Strathman led Wetmore with 17 as well.

Next up for Centralia (1-0) is Nemaha Central on the road Friday, while Wetmore (3-1) heads to Hanover.

BOYS: Centralia 49, Wetmore 41

In the boys game Wetmore got off to a fast start in the first quarter racing out to a 12-6 advantage midway through the quarter, but Centralia responded with a 9-0 run that went from the end of the first quarter to the second.

The Cardinals battled back though and took a 25-22 lead into halftime behind 19 first half points from junior Braden Henry with 11 of those points coming in the second quarter.

Centralia came right back with another big run of their own as junior Colton Weyer hit two 3-pointers in the third quarter while fellow junior Presley Bowers added seven in the third giving the Panthers a 35-32 lead going into the fourth.

In that fourth quarter it was Centralia junior Raef Osterhaus who took over as he notched seven of his nine points in the final frame while Bowers added four more points and senior Ian Haverkamp knocking in a big triple.

The unsung hero of the night was Centralia junior Marshall Tanking who hit two 3-pointers and held Wetmore’s Henry to just four points in the second half earning him Player of the Game honors on 92.1 KMZA.

Centralia (1-0) was led in scoring by Presley Bowers who scored 13 points while Colton Weyer added 10 and Raef Osterhaus 9. Wetmore (3-1) was led by Henry’s 23 points while senior Kael McQueen added 9.