SHREVEPORT, La. - The Gents turned in a monster day on the boards, outrebounding the Tigers 52-39 with career bests from junior James Sapp (23) and sophomore Travion Kirkendoll.
However, the Maroon and White could not bounce back from a 16.7 first half shooting percentage as Centenary (8-6, 1-3 Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference) fell to Trinity (5-8, 1-1 SCAC) 72-70 Sunday afternoon, January 10, at the Gold Dome.
Trinity led for all but 44 seconds in the contest and hit its first three shots (two of them from three) to race out to an 8-0 lead. With Centenary trailing 71-64 with 2:27 remaining in the game, the Gents tried to pull off one more weekend comeback. Kirkendoll pulled down a missed three by freshman Treylan Matthews and got the putback to cut the deficit to five. Sapp then ripped down a defensive board and outletted to junior Kendall Demouchet for the fastbreak hoop.
After a Trinity missed layup, Demouchet drove baseline and made the hoop and looked to tie the game from the free throw line, but the basket was waived off as he was called for the charge. Centenary trailed 71-68 with 1:06 left.
From there, the plot thickened even further. With 50 seconds left, A.J. Pulliam split from the line for Trinity. Centenary missed a pair of treys, but Kirkendoll stole the defensive rebound from the Tigers. After a missed shot and Trinity rebound, Demouchet was whistled for his fifth foul. Pulliam went to the line and missed the first free throw, but was whistled for his technical and his fifth foul. Kirkendoll missed both free throws, and Trinity's Ben Beatie missed the last free throw. Matthews missed a three, but James grabbed the rebound and made the jumper with 0.2 on the clock.
The Tigers lobbed the ball three-fourths of the court as time expired and the Gents fell by two.
Kirkendoll grabbed a career-highs in rebounds (12) and steals (six) to go along with 27 points for his second double-double this season. Sapp added 15 points to go along with 23 rebounds for his seventh double-double.
Centenary finished 23-for-71 (32.4 percent) shooting for the game.
After trailing by 12 at halftime and 56-47 with 9:59 left in the game, Centenary went on a 10-1 run for the only tie in the game. Junior Brandon Campbell split from the line. After a stop, Matthews missed the front end of the one-and-one. However, Sapp grabbed one of his nine offensive boards for the hoop and harm. He made the ensuing free throw to cut the deficit to five. Trinity split from the line, but Demouchet hit a jumper. After a Tigers miscue and foul, Demouchet hit both free throws to cut the deficit to two. Trinity threw a turnover that Kirkendoll grabbed and went right to the hoop to tie the game.
Trinity scored the first eight points of the game and jumped out to a 15-5 lead nine minutes into the game. Jimmy Clark hit a layup and Beatie hit a triple. Matt Jones hit a three to open up the 8-0 advantage. Sapp hit a jumper, but Jones answered with another three. Pulliam made a layup to give Trinity the 15-5 lead with 10:48 left in the first half.
Pulliam led Trinity with 20 points while Beatie added 14. Jones hit both threes taken in the game and went 4-for-5 from the line to finish the game with 12 points.
Centenary cut the deficit to four with five minutes until half, but the Tigers went on an 11-3 run to close the period. Pulliam hit a three and a pair of free throws. Campbell split from the line for Centenary, but a foul and a technical foul on the Gents netted Trinity four free throws. Kirkendoll added a layup, but Matthew Colliflower answered with a layup as Trinity led 33-21 at the break.
Centenary returns to action Friday, January 15, for a road game at Austin College. Tip is scheduled for 6 p.m.
