CENTRAL CHRISTIAN 56, STAFFORD 44 — Central Christian led 27-5, but Stafford closed within 46-40 before the Cougars pulled away for a 56-44 Heart of the Plains basketball victory. The Trojans outscored the Cougars 35-19 with attacking offense and aggressive defense to pull within six points.

Stafford's Jacob Simmons scored 14 points. Piercen Huff led the Cougars with 25 points. The Cougars outscored the Trojans 16-8 on free throws.

Stafford 3 15 10 16 — 44

C. Christian 21 10 8 17 — 56

STAFFORD (1-10)—Simmons 4 (2) 4-4 14; Marks 3 (1) 0-0 7; Kreutzer 2 (1) 1-2 6; Cecchin 3 0-0 6; Johnson 1 3-6 5; Joel Valadez (1) 0-0 3; Englebrecht (1) 0-0 3; Totals 15 (6) 8-12 44

CENTRAL CHRISTIAN (7-4)—Huff 7 (3) 8-9 25 Barnett 6 (1) 3-4 16; Halfmoon 4 (2) 0-0 10; Kooiman 0 4-6 4; Franz 0 1-2 1; Totals 17 (6) 16-21 56

CENTRAL CHRISTIAN GIRLS 51, STAFFORD 28 — Central Christian roared ahead 31-10 at halftime and coasted past Stafford's girls 51-28 in Friday's Heart of the Plains basketball game.

Stafford guard Ariana Delgadillo expertly directed the offense and scored seven points. Khloe McCloskey made a statement for extra playing time with a pair of fourth quarter 3-pointers.  

Central Christian's Harper Newcome scored 13 points and Reese Swanson added 10 points. The Cougars played lockdown man defense with a balanced offense.

Stafford 9 1 6 12 — 28

C. Christian 16 15 13 7 — 51

STAFFORD (4-7)—Ariana Delgadillo 3 1-3 7; McCloskey (2) 0-0 6; Emily Delgadillo 2 2-4 6; Ferguson 2 (1) 0-0 5; Roush (1) 0-0 3; Hacking 0 1-4 1; Totals 10 (4) 40-11 28

C. CHRISTIAN (10-1)—Harper Newcome 5 3-7 13; Swanson 4 2-7 10; Losaw 4 1-3 9; Duft 3 (2) 0-0 8; Kaufman (1) 2-2 5; Ava Newcome 2 0-0 4; Huff 0 2-4 2; Totals 19 (3) 10-23 51