Friday afternoon Centreville got 27 points from senior guard Bryce Douglas and 20 from sophomore guard Chris Kuzemka to get past Freedom-South Riding in overtime, 77-71 in a Joe Cascio Tournament semi-final. The Wildcats advance to play Liberty in the tourney final at Falls Church, Saturday night at 9:15 pm.
With just over five minutes left in the fourth quarter and the score tied, the Wildcats went on a 10-0 run to seemingly put the game away. Freedom refused to quit, with Robbie Kemmerer converting an and-one opportunity and draining a three-pointer soon after to cut the lead in half. Centreville missed key free throws down the stretch and Freedom guard Kyle Skinner’s driving lay-up tied the game with just a few seconds left in regulation.
In overtime Centreville (8-3) snatched the momentum right back. Coach Kevin Harris’ trapping defense, which had bothered Freedom periodically throughout the contest, forced two key turnovers in succession. Then Douglas did his thing, blowing by Freedom’s defense and getting to the rim. This time he and the other Wildcats were able to control the ball, make their free throws, and secure the victory.
Freedom (5-4) was led by Skinner’s 17 points and seven assists. Forward Lance Johnson had 14 points and 14 rebounds, while Kemmerer had 13 points. They will battle Gar-Field in the tournament third-place game this afternoon.
Sophomore Reece Schirmer and junior Lance Douglas came up big for Harris’ squad. Each had seven boards, with Schirmer also scoring nine and Douglas five.
–Chris Jollay
all stats are unofficial
| CENTREVILLE | FG | FT | TP | REB | AST | |
| B.DOUGLAS | 7-18 | 11-13 | 27 | 1 | 4 | |
| SHANTON | 1-4 | 2-4 | 4 | 8 | 2 | |
| HUNTER | 2-6 | 0-0 | 5 | 1 | 4 | |
| NEWELL | 1-1 | 0-0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | |
| KUZEMKA | 7-12 | 3-4 | 20 | 1 | 2 | |
| L.Douglas | 2-5 | 1-4 | 5 | 7 | 3 | |
| Schirmer | 3-5 | 2-4 | 9 | 7 | 1 | |
| Hogan | 2-2 | 1-2 | 5 | 1 | 1 | |
| McClain | 0-0 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| TOTALS | 25-53 | 20-31 | 77 | 26 | 17 | |
| Threes: Kuzemka 3-5, B.Douglas 2-7, Schirmer 1-2, Hunter 1-5, Shanton 0-1, L.Douglas 0-2 | ||||||
| FREEDOM-SOUTH RIDING | FG | FT | TP | REB | AST | |
| KEMMERER | 5-8 | 1-1 | 13 | 4 | 0 | |
| SKINNER | 6-13 | 3-3 | 17 | 5 | 7 | |
| SHRESTHA | 4-9 | 0-0 | 9 | 4 | 2 | |
| JOHNSON | 4-7 | 6-11 | 14 | 14 | 0 | |
| WESTFALL | 2-2 | 0-2 | 4 | 4 | 0 | |
| Easter | 4-9 | 0-1 | 8 | 2 | 3 | |
| Hoenig | 1-5 | 0-1 | 3 | 1 | 2 | |
| Azzouz | 0-1 | 0-0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | |
| Moore | 1-3 | 1-2 | 3 | 3 | 0 | |
| TOTALS | 27-57 | 11-21 | 71 | 37 | 14 | |
| Threes: Kemmerer 2-4, Skinner 2-6, Shrestha 1-4, Hoenig 1-4, Easter 0-1, Azzouz 0-1, Moore 0-1 | ||||||