Central rewarded with tourney title in physical battle with T-Town

With their winning streak now at 14 games, the Central Cougars won the Nashville Invitational Tournament title Saturday by exacting revenge against the team that handed them their last defeat.

Central put three players in double figures and sank 19 of 22 free throws in a physical contest as the Cougars claimed their second-straight tourney title with a 50-38 victory over Teutopolis.

Central (16-3), ranked 10th in the state in Class 3A, has not lost since a 51-41 setback to the same Wooden Shoes back on Dec. 2. T-Town (18-2) is ranked third in Class 2A.

“With T-Town it’s always a battle,” said Central senior Jack Strieker, who scored 10 points. “It’s a war. All five guys they put on the court, they’re really strong.”

Key performers

Central point guard Kolby Schulte dealt with the Shoes’ intense defensive pressure most of the night and handled it well. He led the Cougars with 13 points and sank all six of his free-throw attempts in the fourth quarter to help hold off a Wooden Shoes comeback.

“Kolby’s a battler,” Strieker said. “He takes the ball up every time, and he likes contact. He did a great job tonight.”

So did Central guard Carter Truong, who had four 3-pointers in the first half to help stake his team to a 26-15 halftime lead. Truong scored 12 points.

Central coach Jeremy Shubert praised his team’s defense. Mitch Hardiek (22 points) and Brant Bueker (10 points) combined for 32 of the Shoes’ 38 points.

“I can’t say enough about my team,” Shubert said. “They battled a very good team, a very tough team, a very physical team. They’ve hit 90 (points) numerous times this year. I said ‘Let’s see if we can’t hold them to 42 points,’ and I’ll be darned if we didn’t get it done. We got them below 42.”

Key sequence

Trailing by 11, Teutopolis scored nine of the first 11 points in the second half to cut into Central’s lead. T-Town had the momentum until Hardiek was called for a technical foul on Central’s Tyler Joest after Joest had already been fouled by another player.

Joest sank three of the four free throws, and Teutopolis never got closer than six points the rest of the way. Central drained 13 of 14 free throws in the fourth quarter.

“We had to be physical as well; it was both ways,” Shubert said. “It wasn’t just them. It’s a tough game to referee, guys. When you get in a physical game like that, you’ve got to be able to make free throws and limit the other team to one shot.”

Nashville 51, Mater Dei 45

After a rough week at their own tournament that included three straight losses, the Nashville Hornets ended up on a positive note with a win over Mater Dei.

Brogan Kemp led the way for Nashville (13-8) with 20 points, while Bryson Bultman contributed 14 and Ryan Brink had eight. Noah Gerdes led Mater Dei (10-7) with 18 points, and Tyler Goebel had 10. Mason Toennies added nine.

This story was originally published January 21, 2017 at 10:23 PM with the headline "Central rewarded with tourney title in physical battle with T-Town."