Dragons Suffer First Setback

The Central Dragon basketball team improved its record to 5-0 with two wins early last week. The Dragons won at Chestnut Ridge and Bellefonte on consecutive nights.

The Dragons suffered their first loss of the season Dec. 21 against Huntingdon.

CHS 70, Ridge 38

On Monday, Dec. 17, Central came out on fire, taking a 19-4 first-quarter lead that swelled to 39-11 by intermission. Braden Kitt paced the offense with 18 early points, while Noah Muthler added 10 in the opening half.

With both teams using a variety of lineups in the second half, Central had a slim 31-27 advantage, leading to a final score of 70-38.

For the game, Kitt had 18 points, Lleyton Kling 14, Muthler 13 and Thad Albright 10. Hunter Klotz ripped down eight rebounds and added seven points and four assists.

Muthler and Albright each had six rebounds as the Dragons had a 27-16 rebounding advantage. Albright (seven) and Muthler (six combined for 13 assists. Kitt (five) and Albright (four) combined for nine steals.

CHS 41, Bellefonte 38

On Tuesday, Dec. 18, it was a long trip to play undefeated (4-0) Bellefonte. After falling behind 6-0 the Dragons regrouped to lead 10-9 after one quarter. The lead was 17-14 by halftime.

Central was able to expand its advantage with an impressive 17-11 third frame, taking a 34-25 into the final quarter. Bellefonte scored late but fell short 41-38.

Again, Braden Kitt paced the offense with 19 points, which included four 3-pointers. Lleyton Kling scored 10, Noah Muthler seven and Hunter Klotz five. Klotz had nine rebounds and Kitt five, while Klotz also led the team with five assists. For the third consecutive game, the Dragons had less than nine turnovers.

"The guys continue to impress me as they seem to improve each game," Central coach Reggie Nevins said. "This was our third straight Mountain League win by a total of just nine points. We played exceptionally well at Ridge, but the Bellefonte game was special. They have a veteran team with mostly seniors and we hadn't won there in quite a while."

Huntingdon 57, CHS 54

The Dragons lost for the first time this season in their battle with undefeated Huntingdon (6-0) last Friday, Dec. 21, at the Penn State Altoona campus. The teams entered the contest with identical 5-0 records, 3-0 in the Mountain League.

After spotting the Bearcats an early 6-0 lead, the Dragons took an 18-17 advantage after one quarter. All five Dragon starters scored in the opening frame. Huntingdon won the second frame 20-10, taking a nine-point lead into intermission.

"We got beaten pretty badly on their offensive boards in the second quarter and it got us into foul trouble and behind on the scoreboard," CHS coach Reggie Nevins said.

The Dragons came out on fire in the third quarter, outscoring the Bearcats 16-6 and took a one-point lead into the final eight minutes. After going ahead by three points, Central came up short on four straight possessions and Huntingdon took advantage.

The Bearcats were able to connect on enough of their late foul shots to escape with a 57-54 victory.

For the game, Huntingdon had a slim 26-23 advantage on the boards and committed fewer turnovers (12-7). The Dragons connected on 50 percent of their shot attempts (21 of 42) compared to 21 of 52 for Huntingdon.

Braden Kitt paced the Dragon offense with 15 points and seven rebounds. Noah Muthler totaled 11 points, six boards and a team-high seven assists. Thad Albright scored 10 points, Lleyton Kling eight and Hunter Klotz seven in the balanced offensive attack.

"It was a great game with both teams taking leads at different intervals," Nevins said. "They return six of their top eight players and had dominated everyone until our game. I was really pleased with how we played except for the first half rebounding. Although they're stronger inside we needed to maintain position better which we did in the second half.

"Our staff is really pleased with the effort our guys are displaying and we look forward to next week's tournament at Williamsburg."