SHREVEPORT, La. – The Gents were able to take control early and led by as much as seven, but the Tigers warmed up from outside at the end of the first half and held on in the second as Centenary (3-7, 1-1 Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference) fell to Trinity (2-7, 2-0 SCAC) 67-62 in its final games before Christmas.
The Gents were able to hold the Tigers scoreless for more than four minutes to begin the game, but could only manage a layup by Kaharri Carter and a three from senior Treylan Matthews. Trinity scored the next four points, but a layup and three from Matthews extended the lead to 10-4. Trinity made a bucket, but junior Cedric Harris made a three to extend the Centenary lead to seven – its largest of the game.
Matthews led the Gents with 17 points and seven assists, while Harris came off the bench for 14 points in his first contest of the season.
Centenary led 24-23 before Trinity ended the half with eight unanswered to take a seven-point lead into intermission.
Trinity led 48-42 with six minutes left in the contest, but Centenary scored seven unanswered to take its only lead of the second half. Harris made a nice cut for a dunk on a dime from freshman Ty Prince.
Prince finished the game with 10 points and five assists against one turnover.
Matthews made a pair from the charity stripe and a three-pointer by Harris gave Centenary a 49-48 lead. However, two layups by Matthew Colliflower gave the Tigers the lead for good.
With Trinity up 52-51, the Tigers scored seven unanswered and never led by less than three the rest of the game. Danny Rivara made a layup before Isaiah Specks made a fastbreak layup while being fouled. He made the ensuing free throw before a layup by Colliflower pushed the lead to 59-51 with 1:51 left in the game.
Rivara came off the bench to lead Trinity with 14 points on 7-for-9 shooting. Colliflower and Specks also came off the bench for 13 and 11, respectively. Trinity's bench used a 40-16 edge in bench points.
Centenary takes more than a week off before returning to SCAC play December 29 against Southwestern. Tip-off in the Gold Dome is scheduled for 6 p.m.