Central Wins Kinsley Championship in Overtime

By Ben Cox
    The 37th annual Charles T. Kinsley Championship came to an exciting end with host team Central defeating Zachary 63-60 in an overtime game on Saturday, December 12, 2015. The Wildcats saved their best game for the last game.  Central was in the lead nearly wire to wire.  In order to advance to the championship game Central defeated St. Helena Central and Tara. Central defeated St. Helena Central 56-36 and Tara 36-24.    In all three games Central was led in scoring by senior Austin Stewart.   The all-tournament team had Jace Aubert, Todd Lasseigne, and MVP Austin Stewart. 
    The final game was a battle between district rivals Central and Zachary.  Central led the majority of the game, however Zachary tied the game with less than 30 seconds to go.  Austin Stewart had a jump shot to end the game in regulation, but it just rimmed out. He more than made up for it in overtime, where he scored 7 points.  Twenty seconds into overtime Stewart hit a three point shot. Zachary answered quickly with a two point shot.  In overtime Josh Herbert made a three pointer from the right corner.  Every time Central scored Zachary answered back.  Stewart took the ball the length of the court with close to 2 minutes to go in overtime, was double teamed at the free throw line, and improbably made a spin move that was followed by an acrobatic jump shot.  This gave Central a 3 point lead, however Zachary answered again with a basket.  Edgar Janise was fouled and calmly made both free throws to put the lead back to 3 points, only to see Zachary score again.  The score was 61-60 and Central was fouled, where this time Central missed both free throws. Zachary got the rebound, but an errant pass was recovered by Austin Stewart who was fouled.  He drained both free throws which gave Central a 63-60 lead with under 3 seconds in the game, Zachary had a long attempt to tie it, however it was missed.  In the game Stewart scored 20 points, while Jace Aubert had 13 points, and sophomore Todd Lasseigne had a career high 13 points.  This was the first Kinsley title for Central in five years.  Their next game is December 21, 2015 at Dunham High.