SAN ANTONIO, Texas - The Gents erased a nine-point, second half deficit to win their fifth straight against the Tigers as Centenary (10-6, 4-2 SCAC) knocked off Trinity (9-7, 3-2 SCAC) 77-71 in San Antonio Friday night, January 19.
Coupled with Schreiner's overtime win against Austin, the Gents and Mountaineers square off for the lead in the SCAC halfway through conference play tomorrow night in Kerrville.
Trailing 46-37 with 13:57 left in the contest, Centenary scored 11 unanswered and never trailed the rest of the way. Sophomore Cedric Harris started a parade from beyond the arc when he buried a three. Senior Travion Kirkendoll and junior Treylan Matthews buried threes to force the first tie of the contest. After a Trinity miss, Cedric Harris made a jumper to give the Maroon and White its first lead of the ballgame.
Harris finished the game with 23 points on 9-for-17 shooting, including a 4-for-8 mark from beyond the arc. Kirkendoll chipped in 17 points, 14 of which came in the second half alone.
The Tigers retied the game at 55, but a layup from Kirkendoll and an old-fashioned three by junior Kaharri Carter gave the Gents the lead for good. Centenary never had a lead less than three the rest of the way and built the advantage to 10, 71-61, on two Kirkendoll free throws.
The Gents turned in their best free throw shooting mark of the season (94.4 percent, 17-for-18) for the win - including making all eight from the charity stripe in the final 2:06. Centenary also hit 26-for-59 (44.1 percent) from the field. Carter added his first collegiate double-double, coming off the bench for 17 points and 11 boards.
Centenary trailed by nine late in the first half, but a 9-2 run cut the deficit to 32-30. Carter scored six straight around a Trinity jumper. Sophomore Jericho Gray hit his only shot of the game and Kirkendoll added a free throw off a technical foul to bring Centenary within two.
After an early nine-point lead for Trinity, the Gents cut the deficit to 22-21. The Tigers responded when Nylan Yancy hit a jumper and Taylor Kim made a three off a Centenary turnover. After a stop, Karthik Reddy hit a three to rebuild the home team's lead back to nine.
Danny Rivara led Trinity with 17 points and 10 rebounds, while Isaiah Specks came off the bench for 16.
Centenary finishes the weekend Saturday night, January 20, when it takes on Schreiner. Tip in Kerrville is set for 4 p.m.