SHREVEPORT, La - After clinching a share of the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference regular season championship, the Centenary men's basketball team make their bid for the conference tournament title this weekend at the University of Dallas. The second-seeded Gents, which received a bye in the first round, open play on Saturday, Feb 28 at 7 p.m. against the winner of the Schreiner-Southwestern contest.

Centenary's share of the regular season crown marks the first since the 1989-90 season in the former Trans-Atlantic Athletic Conference, now the Atlantic Sun, and lands the Gents a bye in the first round of the SCAC Championships.

The Maroon and White carry the longest win streak into the Championships winning its last four games. Earlier this season the Gents carried a seven-game win streak, which tied for second longest in the league.

Centenary boasts two of the top five scorers in the conference and the league's second leading rebounder. James Sapp, who is second in the conference in rebounds with 7.9 per outing, paces the conference in scoring with 15.9 points per game while Kendall Demouchet is averaging 13 points on the season and sits atop the conference in block with 1.8 per affair. The scoring duo also sits fourth and fifth in the SCAC in field goal percentage with Demouchet at 52.7 percent and Sapp adding a clip of 52.1.

Joining Sapp and Demouchet among the scoring leaders in the conference is Travion Kirkendoll. The Campti, La., native is averaging 12.5 points on the campaign, the most of any freshman in the conference. Kirkendoll ranks seventh in the conference in scoring and fifth in steals behind fellow Gents Demouchet, who sits atop the list with 1.5, and senior Caden Cheramie, who ranks third.

With three of the top 10 scorers and steals leaders in the conference, it comes as no surprise that the Gents lead the conference in both categories with 74.3 points and 8.4 steals per game.

Centenary holds an all-time series record of 9-1 against Southwestern, including five straight and is 6-0 against Schreiner. The Gents have faced both squads in postseason play. The Maroon and White defeated the Pirates 74-71 last season to even the postseason mark at 1-all and claimed a 74-66 win over the Mountaineers also during a run to the conference title game.

To follow all the action visit, GoCentenary.com or http://scacsports.com/tournament/winter/basketball/index.