SHREVEPORT, La. - The Centenary Ladies and Gents basketball teams look for their first wins in the Gold Dome on the season when they welcome in Johnson and Wales Friday, December 1.
The Gents (3-2) tip at 5:30 p.m. against Johnson and Wales (0-13), while the Ladies (0-5) tip-pff against the Wildcats (1-8) is set for 7:30 p.m.
After the Friday night doubleheader, the Ladies are off for nearly a week, but the Gents travel to Hendrix to take on the Warriors (1-5) Sunday afternoon, December 3, at 3 p.m.
Gents vs Johnson & Wales: Live Stats | Live Video
Ladies vs Johnson & Wales: Live Stats | Live Video
Gents at Hendrix: Live Stats and Live Video
Quick Hits: Gents
- Centenary (3-2) looks to notch its first home win of the season on Friday, December 1, when it welcomes future Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference member Johnson & Wales to the Gold Dome.
- Sunday at Hendrix marks the first true road game for the Gents on the season. The three non- home games have included two games in a neutral-site tournament. Monday's game against Louisiana College was scheduled to be played away, but the game was moved to Northwestern State
- This will be the first time the Gents faced an opponent for the first time since beating Dallas Christian 82-70 February 20, 2016.
The Series with Hendrix
Sunday's game at Hendrix marks the eighth meeting all-time in a series that began December 19, 2012. After single games for the 2012-13 and 2013-14 seasons, the Gents and Warriors have played twice each of the last three seasons.
Centenary leads the all-time series with Hendrix 5-2 and is on a five-game winning streak. The Gents are 1-1 in Conway, Arkansas, with an 81-75 loss on December 31, 2013, and a 73-69 win on November 24, 2015.
Last Game against Hendrix
The Gents recorded an assist on more than 73 percent of their baskets and overcame a halftime deficit to beat Hendrix, 81-70, on the final day of the annual Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference/Southern Athletic Association Classic.
Sophomore Cedric Harris matched a then-career high with 26 points and added three blocks, junior Treylan Matthews grabbed eight rebounds, and senior Travion Kirkendoll dished out six assists. Junior Regis Johnson added six assists against no turnovers.
Sean Criswell added 17 points and 10 rebounds for Hendrix.
In the NCAA Rankings
As a team, the Gents rank in the top-100 in NCAA Division III in multiple categories. Centenary sits 68th in assist/turnover ratio (1.25) on the strength of only five turnovers with 21 assists Monday against Louisiana College. The Gents are 69th with 17 assists per game, 79th with a 74.3 free-throw percentage, and 91st with 3.8 blocks per game.
Individually, senior Travion Kirkendoll is 27th with three steals per game and 49th with 22.2 points per game. Cedric Harris is 56th in both blocks per game (1.8) and in assist/turnover ratio (3.2). Harris is also 124th in scoring with 19.6 points per game. He is also the only Gent to reach double-digit scoring in all five games this season.
Quick Hits: Ladies
- The Centenary Ladies (0-5) will play only its second home game of the season on Friday, December 1, when it hosts Johnson & Wales at 7:30 p.m.
- Johnson & Wales joins the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference for the 2018-19 season.
- This will be the first ever meeting between the Ladies and the Wildcats.
- Centenary has led four-of-five games at halftime this season.
- The Ladies have recorded their two-best shooting performances of the season in the last two games: 43.1 percent (22-51) at Hendrix November 25 and 34.6 percent (18-52) at UT Tyler November 29.
Against Johnson & Wales
This will be the first ever meeting between Centenary and Johnson & Wales. This will be the first time since December 19, 2015, that the Ladies are facing an opponent for the first time. In that game, they beat Crowley's Ridge 82-73 at the Gold Dome.
For the 2015-16 season, Centenary faced an opponent for the first time on three occasions, all of which were wins (at Dallas Christian November 13, at Southwestern Adventist December 10).
Block Party
Centenary, who led the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference in blocks per game in both 2015-16 and 2016-17 with 5.2, currently sits second in the conference in that stat with 3.2 blocks per game.
Individually, sophomore Deunya Small (1.2) and junior Savanah Doty (0.8) sits second and seventh in the conference in that category. Doty, who finished third in the conference overall and led among guards last season, currently leads among guards in the SCAC this season.
Home Sweet Home
The Ladies finally are home after playing four-straight games on the road. Friday's game against Johnson & Wales kicks off a three-game homestand for the Maroon and White, culminating with a game against LeTourneau December 7 and against Millsaps in the Holiday Classic December 16. After a two-game classic at Oglethorpe in Atlanta December 18-19, the Ladies close out the month of December with its conference opener in the Gold Dome against Austin College on the 30th.
Prior to this home stand, the Ladies have played four straight on the road. Two opponents thus far, Hendrix and Millsaps, were neutral site games at Austin College. Centenary has also played at Hendrix and UT Tyler. The Ladies opened the season at home against East Texas Baptist November 15.
Race to 1,000
Junior Jasmine Morris is trying to become just the seventh Ladies basketball player to reach 1,000 career points. She has 860 in her quest to become only the second Centenary player to reach this milestone in her junior season.
Next Up
The Ladies return to the Gold Dome court Thursday, December 7, against LeTourneau at 6 p.m. After the weekend, the Gents travel to Austin, Texas, to take on Concordia December 9. Tip is scheduled for 2 p.m.