The Aubrey Chaparrals basketball team took on the Centennial Titans at home Monday afternoon, with the Titans controlling the matchup en route to a 96-62 win.
The Titans piled up the points, with three players in double figures in points, led by Cooper Mc-Whorter and Devo Boley, who combined for 38 points.
“Right now, we're just not a very good defensive team,” said Kyle Smith, Aubrey head boys basketball coach. “We struggled on rotating; people get lost at different times, and in the game of basketball all it takes is one person to get lost and they get an open shot. … But I thought we did some good things offensively. Their press hurt us a little, but we were able to break it quite a bit, which, for a team this young, is a positive thing.”
Centennial took advantage of the less experienced Chaps roster that returns one player from last year’s varsity team, opening the game with a 25-8 first quarter.
The Titans continued their scoring run into the second quarter, building a 21-point lead going into the half, up 51-30.
The Chaps kept things closer to open the second half, scoring 16 points to the Titans' 19 in the third quarter, but Centennial pulled away in the fourth, closing the game with a 26-16 run to take the 9662 victory.
Despite the loss, Smith said he believes a challenging nondistrict schedule will help the young Chaps’ roster mature by the time district play begins.
The Chaps’ lone returner from last year’s varsity team, sophomore guard Marquez Lucas, led the team with 19 points, followed by junior forward Luke Hellman, who finished with 12 points.
“There are a lot of things to work on, and this is going to be a growing year, but I really think these guys work hard, and they're going to get better,” he said. “They want to improve, and they work hard, so we’ll get better by the time district comes around. We're playing all 5A schools right now, and we know it’s going to be tough, but we’re looking to improve every day.”
