Kerrville, Texas - The Centenary men's basketball team defeated the Texas Lutheran Bulldogs, 77-56, in the 2020 Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Championship Game on Sunday at Stephens Family Arena to claim the tournament title and clinch a berth in the upcoming NCAA Division III Tournament.
The NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Tournament begins at 16 nationwide campus sites March 6-7 and will feature 64 teams. The 2020 Division III selection show will begin at 11:30 a.m. on Monday, March 2. The SCAC champion Gents will gather as a team along with athletic department and school personnel to watch the show live at the Gold Dome.
The Gents (18-9, 15-5 SCAC) won their 10th game in a row and won the SCAC tournament title for the first time in program history. The Gents' 21-point margin of victory Sunday was the largest in the 18-year history of the SCAC tournament. Centenary earned the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament for the first time in school history and won the title game for the first time after three previous appearances came up short, most recently in 2018. The Gents were the No. 2 seed all three previous times they made the title game.
Sunday's win also marks the Gents' first men's basketball conference title since 1980 when the Maroon and White claimed both the regular season and conference tournament championships while a member of the Trans America Athletic Conference (now the Atlantic Sun Conference).
Centenary's current 10-game winning streak is the program's longest in the division III era and the Maroon and White also set a division III program record for conference wins in a single season and home wins (10) in a single season in the division III era as the Gents went 10-1 at home this season. The Gents defeated host team Schreiner, 76-70, on Saturday in the semifinals to clinch a spot in Sunday's title game.
Freshman guard Ralph Johnson (New Iberia, La.), named the 2019-20 SCAC Newcomer of the Year, led the Gents with 17 points in 34 minutes. He made 7 of his 9 shots from the field and had seven rebounds, four assists and a steal. Johnson scored eight points and had two steals and an assist in Saturday's win.
Senior guard Cedric Harris (Shreveport), the 2019-20 SCAC Player of the Year, scored 16 points in 35 minutes on 5-14 shooting and connected on 4-10 three-point attempts. Harris was also named the tournament MVP following the championship game. The former C.E. Byrd High star continued his stellar senior season he added 10 rebounds on Sunday for his 11th double-double of the season.
Harris, also named to the All-SCAC First Team, had 26 points and 12 rebounds in the semifinal win on Saturday and entered the tournament third in the SCAC in scoring averaging 19.9 points per game and fifth in rebounding, averaging 8.6 per game. Harris has also made the most three-point baskets (101) in the SCAC and the most by a Gent since Ronnie McCollum made that same number during the 1997-98 season. Harris ranks in the top 15 in program history in scoring and rebounding and his 255 career three-point baskets ranks third all-time in program history. Harris entered the weekend tied for 16th in the nation in division III with 3.60 made three-point field goals per game and tied for 14th in three-point field goals made. Harris has also eclipsed the 20-point mark 14 times this season.
Sophomore forward Ty Prince (Thorndale, Texas, last season's SCAC Newcomer of the Year, who was named to the All-SCAC Third Team this weekend, scored 13 points in 28 minutes on 6-9 shooting. He grabbed five rebounds and had three steals, three assists, and two blocked shots. Sophomore guard Tykeem Singleton (Fort Worth, Texas) matched Prince with 13 points as he reached double figures for the first time this season. He made six of his eight shots from the floor in 27 minutes of action. Sophomore guard Kile Mingo (Cypress, Texas), who scored 18 points off the bench for the Gents in 29 minutes on Saturday, chipped in 12 points on Sunday in just 16 minutes as he shot 4-6 from the floor and made two of his four three-point attempts.
Centenary shot a sizzling 50.9 % (29-57) from the floor for the game, marking the fourth time this season that the Gents shot 50 % or better in a game. The Maroon and White's season-high was interestingly enough in its most recent meeting with Texas Lutheran, as the Gents shot 51.5 % in a 91-77 road win on Feb. 8.
The Gents led for over 33 minutes on Sunday and held their biggest lead of the game (23) at the 4:34 mark of the second half before winning by 21 points. Centenary received 25 bench points, caused 11 turnovers, and had five steals and four blocks. Caleb Lister led TLU (16-12, 11-7 SCAC) with 19 points on 8-17 shooting and Sebastian Andrade, Jamir Mason, and Jorden Kite each scored 11 points.
The 2019-20 All-SCAC Team was announced on Saturday and Gents head coach Chris Dorsey was named the 2019-20 SCAC Coach of the Year, as the Gents became the first SCAC school to have the Player of the Year, Newcomer of the Year, and Coach of the Year since Texas Lutheran accomplished the feat in the 2015-16 season. Harris was also named to the All-SCAC First team and Johnson and sophomore forward Neil Hawkins (Titusville, Fla.) earned Honorable Mention honors.
Harris, Johnson, and Mingo were each named to the 2020 SCAC Men's Basketball All-Tournament Team following the game on Sunday.
For more information on the 2020 SCAC Men's Basketball Tournament and to see the complete 2019-20 All-SCAC Team, click here for the official website.
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