Longview, Texas – The Centenary men's basketball team fell 99-83 to the LeTourneau University YellowJackets on Tuesday in a non-conference game at the Solheim Arena.
The Gents (2-3) were playing their third-straight game on the road after splitting a pair of contests this past weekend against Howard Payne and Hardin-Simmons. The YellowJackets improved to 5-1 after Tuesday's victory.
LeTourneau raced out to a 58-33 lead at halftime, but the Gents' offense came alive in the second half, outscoring the YellowJackets, 50-41. Both teams shot well from the field as Centenary finished at 44.4 % (28-63) while LeTourneau made 36 of 79 shots for 45.6 %. The YellowJackets though held a 53-36 advantage in rebounds and connected on 13 three-pointers.
Sophomore forward Ty Prince (Thorndale, Texas) continued his fine play in the early season as last season's Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference Newcomer of the Year led the Gents with 26 points on 8 of 15 shooting and added five rebounds. Prince entered Tuesday's game averaging 19.3 points per game and 10.3 rebounds per game and has now scored in double figures in the first five games of the season.
Senior guard and Shreveport native Cedric Harris, a 1,000 point scorer for his career, posted 19 points and five rebounds in 35 minutes on Tuesday. Harris, like Prince, entered the night averaging 19.3 points per game and 8.0 rebounds per game. Harris scored a season-best 26 points last Saturday against Hardin Simmons. He added 14 rebounds in 36 minutes of action and was 9-21 from the field and 5-11 from three-point range. Harris has now also scored in double digits in all five games this season for the Maroon and White. He scored 16 points and had seven rebounds on Friday in a victory over Howard Payne as he shot 5-10 from the field and 4-8 from three-point range and went 2-2 from the free throw line.
Sophomore guard Kile Mingo (Cypress, Texas) added 13 points on 5-10 shooting in 30 minutes of action. He recorded four steals and made 3 of 7 of his three-point attempts. Neil Hawkins (Titusville, Fla.), Ralph Johnson (New Iberia, La.), and AJ Hall (Thibodaux, La.) combined for 20 points and 12 rebounds with Hawkins posting 10 boards.
Five YellowJackets reached double figures points led by Nate Wests's 24. He added 12 rebounds and 13 assists and was a perfect 6-6 from the free throw line. John Argue, Brick Fosnight, and Justin Moore each scored 11 points.
The Gents will remain on the road next week as they face the East Texas Baptist University Tigers on Monday, Dec. 9 at 7:30 p.m. in Marshall, Texas.
Centenary's next home game will be Saturday, Dec. 14 versus Louisiana College at 3 p.m.
A link to the complete Gents season schedule is available here: https://www.gocentenary.com/sports/mbkb/2019-20/schedule.
Live stats and live video are available for all home games and admission is FREE to all Centenary home athletic events. #GoCentenary #CTheOpportunity
