CARBONDALE — The Centralia Orphans knew they could grab at least a share of the South Seven championship with a win at Carbondale Friday night, but would need some help to win the title outright.
The Orphans took care of their part of the bargain with a 58-35 win over the Terriers. At nearly the same time 25 minutes to the east, Marion wrapped up a 28-25 win over Mt. Vernon, making the Orphans outright conference champions.
Dustyn Collins scored a career high 24 points to lead the attack for Centralia, who improves to 26-2 on the season and finishes 7-1 in conference play.
Decarl Payne led Carbondale with 14 points. The Terriers fall to 11-17 (2-5).
These teams have already met three times this season, with Centralia winning all three. A fourth meeting could be on the way. Carbondale will host Salem Monday night in the quarterfinals of the Marion 3A Regional. The winner will face the top-seeded Orphans Wednesday night.
