Shreveport – The Centenary men's basketball team lost its first Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference game in nearly a year on Saturday as the Gents fell, 68-55, to the Texas Lutheran Bulldogs at the Gold Dome.
The Gents opened their season with a 61-52 victory on Friday to finish the weekend 1-1. Saturday's loss was the first for Centenary at home since Texas Lutheran ironically beat the Gents, 79-75, on Jan. 12, 2020. Centenary's previous conference loss prior to Saturday was a road loss at Colorado College on Jan. 24. The Maroon and White then proceeded to win its final eight regular-season SCAC games, two wins in the 2020 SCAC Tournament, and Friday's season-opening win.
Centenary was uncharacteristically cold on offense on Saturday as the Gents struggled all day and finished a mere 23.1 % (15-65) from the floor. TLU meanwhile shot 47.9 % for the game and 35.3 % from three-point range, making six of 17 attempts. The Bulldogs outrebounded the Gents, 47-35, and had three players in double figures. There were some bright spots though for Centenary as the Gents forced 25 TLU turnovers and made 23 of 26 free throws, including a perfect 6-6 mark in the first half. The Gents made all seven of their free throws in Friday's win.
Sophomore forward Seth Thomas (Kilgore, Texas) again led the Gents in scoring and was the lone Centenary player in double figures with 15 points. He posted a double-double on Friday, scoring a game-high 18 points in 27 minutes and grabbing a team-best 11 rebounds, nine on the defensive end. He made 8 of his 10 free-throw attempts on Saturday with six rebounds and three steals.
Junior guard AJ Hall (Thibodaux, La.) and sophomore guard Drew Young (Lake Charles, La.) each played 21 minutes and each scored eight points. Young went 4-4 from the free-throw line and grabbed a pair of rebounds and had an assist. Sophomore guard Ralph Johnson (New Iberia, La) added six points and had three rebounds, one assist, and one steal.
Jamir Mason led the Bulldogs with 14 points in 24 minutes, grabbed a team-high six rebounds and made all eight of his free-throw attempts. Caleb Lister scored 13 and had five rebounds and went 5-6 from the free-throw line. Sebastian Andrade scored 12 and tied Mason and Garrett Prince with a team-high six rebounds.
Despite Saturday's loss, Centenary has still won nine of its last 10 SCAC regular-season games, 12 of its last 13 conference games overall, and the Gents are 16-6 in their last 22 SCAC games. Centenary was picked to finish third in the SCAC this season as the Gents received 49 points and one first-place vote, predicted to finish only behind St. Thomas and TLU.
The Gents now hit the road for four-straight SCAC contests, facing Schreiner in Kerrville on Friday, Jan. 22 at 8 p.m. and again on Jan. 23 at 4 p.m. Centenary then travels to Dallas to face the Crusaders on Jan. 29 (8 p.m.) and Jan. 30 (4 p.m.).
A link to the Gents' complete schedule can be found here: https://www.gocentenary.com/sports/mbkb/2020-21/schedule.
Live stats and live video are available for all home games.
#GoCentenary #CTheOpportunity
