Dragons Ready for Postseason

Playing on back-to-back nights due to rescheduling, the Central Dragon basketball team split its final two regular season games and finished with a solid 17-5 record.

The Dragons (seeded second) will host league rival Tyrone (third seed) at 7 p.m. today, Feb. 21, with a chance to play for the District 6 crown at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, Feb. 23, at Hollidaysburg Area High School.

Bellefonte 55, CHS 52

On Thursday, Feb. 14, Central hosted class 5A Bellefonte and lost a tough 55-52 decision. The Red Raiders jumped ahead 14-7 after one quarter, but the Dragons responded to take a 23-20 lead into halftime. Central's Hunter Klotz scored 10 of his 19 points in the opening half while freshman Devin Boyles came off the bench to add six.

Bellefonte took a two-point advantage after the third frame, leading 40-38, and dodged a last shot attempt to escape with the win.

In addition to Klotz's 19 points, Braden Kitt added 17 and Boyles 10. Noah Muthler and Thad Albright combined for 10 assists, while Klotz and Muthler each grabbed six boards.

CHS 64, NC 30

On Friday, Feb. 15, Northern Cambria visited Central for a non-league game. NC is coached by former Dragon standout Clinton Gochnour.

The Dragons jumped ahead early 16-3 and led comfortably 37-8 at the half. Noah Muthler connected four times from 3-point range in the opening half Hunter Klotz (10), Braden Kitt (six) and Devin Boyles (five) combined for another 21.

Northern Cambria won the third quarter 11-9 while the Dragons took the final frame 18-11, setting the final score at 64-30.

Muthler finished with 17 points, followed by Kitt with 11 and Klotz 10. Ten Dragons played in the game and all 10 dented the scoring column.

Thad Albright dished out eight assists in the win, while Kitt, Klotz and Muthler were each credited with six rebounds.

"Bellefonte played really well against us. They have a solid veteran team and shot 20-of-33 for the game," Central coach Reggie Nevins said. "We pride ourselves on defense, but they were patient and hit their open shots throughout the game "I felt we actually played pretty well but came up short.

"Northern Cambria played without their leading scorer due to injury so that really hurt them. Our guys were active early and forced a lot of turnovers. We shot the ball extremely well the first half and it allowed us the opportunity to get a lot of guys more playing time. They all did well."

"The team had a great regular season and now it's Tyrone for a chance to play for a district title. We split during the regular season – both teams won on the road – so we'll need another special performance to advance and keep our hopes alive."