Late Run Sinks Gents Basketball against Southwestern

Photo courtesy of Curt Youngblood.
Photo courtesy of Curt Youngblood.

SHREVEPORT, La. – The Gents held a three-point led at the break and led by as much as seven in the second half, but the Pirates got hot from the field in the final 10 minutes to pull away for the double-digit win as Centenary (3-8, 1-2 Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference) fell to Southwestern (6-6, 3-0 SCAC) 80-69 Saturday night, December 29.

The Gents led 39-36 at the break and by one early in the second half before seniors Treylan Matthews and Kaharri Carter made back-to-back threes. Centenary opened its largest lead of the game after the pair of three-pointers with 18:19 left in the game.

Matthews led the Gents in scoring with 20 points, going 7-for-11 from the field – including a 3-for-6 mark from beyond the arc.

Centenary trailed 9-8 early before a three-pointer from Matthews and a fastbreak layup by Carter put the home team up four. Later down 22-21, freshman Ty Prince made a jumper. After a defensive stand, freshman Kile Mingo made a three. After a Southwestern offensive foul, freshman Ricky Ray found junior Cedric Harris on a backdoor cut to put the Gents up 27-21.

Carter finished the game with 12 points while Harris added 10. Centenary shot 15-for-24 (62.5 percent) in the first half alone, including 12-for-14 (85.7 percent) from inside the arc alone.

The Pirates took advantage of 15 Centenary miscues and led in points off turnovers, 19-6. Centenary led 56-54 with 12 minutes left in the game, but Kyle Poerschke made a three to put the visitors up for good. With Southwestern up 61-60, Trenton Garrett made a pair of free throws before layups by Jake Holms and Joel Martinez opened up a seven-point lead for the Pirates. Southwestern never led by six the rest of the way.

Brandon Alexander led Southwestern with 27 points on 11-for-19 shooting. Kyle Howard added the double-double with 12 points and 10 assists. Southwestern shot better than 50 percent from the field in both halves, finishing the game at 55 percent (33-for-60).

Centenary closes out 2018 Sunday, December 30, against Texas Lutheran. Tip-off is scheduled for 2 p.m.