Raef Osterhaus

Coming off a tough loss to Nemaha Central for their first loss of the season, the Centralia boys basketball team had an equally as tough of a task with the unbeaten Hanover Wildcats coming to town Friday night but the Panthers had no problems and rolled to a 68-56 victory.

Centralia could not have done it without the big game from junior Raef Osterhaus who poured in 26 points with a dominant performance throughout.

The Panthers jumped on top early with Osterhaus scoring eight points in the first quarter giving Centralia a 14-12 lead after one.

Osterhaus continued his hot start in the second with seven more points including a monstrous two-hand slam that sparked the Panthers to a 31-24 lead at the half.

He then scored six more points in the third quarter before putting the game away with five more points in the fourth including going 3-of-4 from the free throw line.

Through the Panthers first three games Osterhaus is averaging 16 points per game with Friday night’s performance coming as one of the best of his career.

Osterhaus will look to continue his hot start after the holiday break with the Panthers holding a 2-1 mark after the 2020 portion of the schedule.