CHAMPAIGN – It's hard to imagine a fuller day than the one Todd Anderson experienced Saturday. Or one with such a wide spectrum of feelings.

For the St. Thomas More boys' basketball coach, it was a day that began with a heavy-hearted out-of-town trip to attend his grandmother's funeral. It was the day of his wife's birthday. And finally, a day capped by a game Anderson had long lobbied for – against Centennial – marking the first time the varsity Sabers tested themselves against one of Champaign-Urbana's public schools.

"It's a very emotional day for me personally," Anderson said. "It's a roller coaster of mixed emotions for me today."

Those emotions took a dip in the wake of the 64-21 beating the Sabers absorbed in front of a lively and near-capacity crowd at St. Thomas More's gym. Class 3A Centennial (16-8) bolted to a 12-1 lead before the game was 4 1/2 minutes old to set a gamelong tone against the Class 2A Sabers (7-19).

"I wasn't expecting it to be that big," St. Thomas More junior forward Travis Whitley said of the final margin.

"We played hard," Anderson said. "I thought we had effort. But we're not up to their level. ... Their athletes are quicker, bigger, jump higher and they execute very well."

Anderson estimated the crowd size, swelled by Chargers fans, was "probably double" what St. Thomas More typically draws.

"Obviously, it was a lively crowd," Anderson said. "And that's what I love about Centennial. Their student body really gets into basketball."

Whitley indicated the matchup had long generated a buzz in the St. Thomas More hallways.

"It was a lot of commotion about it," he said. "People were just going crazy when they found out that we had Centennial on the schedule. It was like Christmas Day."

Senior center Josh Piper scored a game-high 17 points to lead a Chargers attack that saw 12 players contribute to the scoring.

"Everybody got some good playing time," Centennial coach Tim Lavin said. "It's been a long time since some of these guys got in. They work so hard in practice. We've had so many close games so it was nice to get everybody in."

Freshman guard Jaycee Hillsman led the Sabers with 11 points.