Shreveport – The Centenary men's basketball program has quickly developed into one of the top programs in not only the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference and region, and the Gents are beginning to receive some national attention for their recent success.
Expectations, as always, are extremely high as the Gents enter the 2021-22 season and it all begins on Tuesday evening as they welcome the Arlington Baptist University Patriots to the Gold Dome for their season opener in a non-conference contest set for 7 p.m.
Live stats and live video are available for the game at the links below:
Stats: https://www.gocentenary.com/sports/mbkb/2021-22/boxscores/20211109_g95q.xml
Video: https://collegetvticket.com/event/centenary-mens-basketball-vs-arlington-baptist-university/
The Gents are coming off of another successful season under head coach Chris Dorsey, who is entering his fifth season at the helm. The Maroon and White went finished 8-4 and 7-3 in SCAC play last season, an abbreviated one due to COVID-19. The Gents reached the semifinals of the SCAC Tournament in an impressive follow up to their 2020 NCAA Tournament appearance and SCAC tournament championship. Centenary received votes in last month's D3Hoops.com top 25 preseason poll.
Dorsey is 54-38 after his first four seasons with the Gents including an impressive 39-21 mark in SCAC play. The Gents finished 18-10 and went 15-5 in SCAC play in 2019-20 as the Maroon and White set division III era program records for conference wins in a single season (15), winning streak (10), and home wins (10) in a single season as the Gents went 10-1 at home. The SCAC tournament title also marked 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 is an impressive 18-4 in its last 22 conference games dating back to Jan. 25, 2020. The Gents finished last season as one of the top defensive teams in the nation, ranking 12th in the nation in scoring defense and 20th in field-goal percentage defense. Centenary was also 12th in turnovers forced and 10th in turnover margin. The Gents ranked first in the league in scoring defense, first in field goal percentage defense, number one in turnover margin, and second in steals. The Maroon and White ended the season allowing only one team to score at least 75 points against them, holding 11 of 12 opponents to less than 70 points and four below 60.
The Gents set a Gold Dome (1970-present) record on Feb. 9, 2021 as they allowed just 37 points to Colorado College in a 51-37 win, marking the fewest points scored by an opponent in the building. The 37 points also marks the fewest number of points allowed by the Maroon and White in the Division III era (2012-present). The Gents are a stellar 15-3 in their last 18 home games entering this season.
Centenary was picked to finish third in the conference this season in the preseason poll released last week. Since the 2017-18 season, Centenary has finished no worse than second (or tied for second) in the SCAC. The Gents are an impressive 38-20 in conference regular-season games the past four seasons, won 10 or more SCAC games in a season twice, won one tournament title, and are 54-38 overall with an NCAA Tournament berth in that span. Centenary's 38 wins are the most of any team in the SCAC in the last four seasons.
The Gents return three starters from last season's team and an extremely talented group of returnees to compliment the trio of returning starters. A pair of sensational juniors, F Seth Thomas (Kilgore, Texas) and G Ralph Johnson (New Iberia, La.) headline the returnees. Both were each named All-SCAC last season as Thomas was one of five players named to the All-SCAC First team while Johnson was named to the Third team.
Thomas finished this season ranked in the top five in the SCAC in five categories and ranked in the top 10 in seven. He ranked third in the league in scoring (15.3 PPG), second in rebounding (8.7 RPG), fourth in steals (2.1 SPG), and first in defensive rebounds (89 total/7.4/game). He ranked fourth in minutes played, ninth in free-throw percentage (75.8), and ninth in blocked shots (10). He was also tied for 10th in three-point field goals made with 19 and scored in double figures in 10 of the Gents' 11 games last season, scored 20 or more points in a game three times, 15 or more five times, and had five double-doubles. He posted a double-double in a Jan. 22 win at Schreiner, recording a career-high 24 points while grabbing 12 rebounds as the Gents earned the 79-75 victory. Thomas also earned Honorable-Mention All-Louisiana honors this season as he was recognized as one of the top players in the entire state.
Johnson ranked 20th in the SCAC in scoring (10.6 PPG), eighth in assists per game (2.7 APG), tied for 10th in free-throw percentage, 10th in steals per game, and played the seventh-most minutes in the conference last season. He recorded seven double-digit scoring games and grabbed four or more rebounds in a game five times. Johnson scored 58 points in the final four games last season, which included a pair of 17-point performances and a 19-point effort. He dished out a career-high nine assists in a 76-73 win at Dallas on Jan. 29 and shot 71.8 % from the free-throw line for the season, fourth-best on the team.
Junior G Drew Young (Lake Charles, La.) is the final returning starter after he played in all 12 games last season and made 10 starts. He averaged 4.2 points per game and 16.0 minutes per game and ranked second on the team in free-throw shooting as he made 15 of 20 (75.0 %) from the line for the season and had four games where he was perfect from the free-throw line. He scored a career-high 10 points in a 76-73 win at Dallas on Jan. 29 and scored five points or more in a game five times.
Senior G Kile Mingo (Cypress, Texas) played in 10 games last season with two starts as he turned in a fantastic junior season in which he averaged 9.3 points per game and was one of the top three-point shooters and one of the most versatile overall players on the team and in the conference. Mingo averaged 24.4 minutes per game and recorded six double-digit scoring games including a season-best 20 (one shy of career high) at Dallas on Jan. 29. He shot 40.2 % from the floor (led team) for the season and 35.6 % from three-point range, which was second on team. He grabbed five or more rebounds six times during the season, made at least two three-point baskets eight times, and made three or more treys three times during the season highlighted by a season-best four at Dallas on Jan. 29. Mingo ranked 25th in the conference in scoring and ranked seventh in three-point field goals made.
Fellow senior G AJ Hall (Thibodaux, La.) played in all 12 games last season and made four starts as he averaged 7.6 points per game which was fourth-best on the team. He played 19.4 minutes per game, shot 37.5 % from the floor for the season, and averaged 2.5 rebounds per game. Hall shot 80 % (8-10) from the free-throw line, had three double-digit scoring performances and scored a season-high 16 points, one shy of his career high, in a season-high 33 minutes of the Gents' 71-69 over St. Thomas at home on Feb. 27. He scored seven or more points in a game eight times and grabbed three or more rebounds in a game seven times and did so the final five games of the season.
Senior F Xavier Johnson (Baker, La.), sophomore G Braeden Board (Rayne, La.), and sophomore G Coby Harris (Lafayette, La.) are all back after combining for three starts as each saw action in at least five games, with Board playing in 11 and Harris all 12. The group of newcomers is headlined by senior G Tevin Baker (Port Arthur, Texas) who comes to Centenary after playing at ETBU last season, and his former teammate there and fellow senior F Jarrell Taylor (Leesville, La.) along with junior F Joseph Wiggins (Bossier City, La.) who prepped locally at Parkway High School.
The Gents also expect significant contributions from freshman G Syied Dyer (Atlanta, Ga.), junior G Jalen Behr (Athens, Ga.), senior G Trent Washington (Gibson, La.), and sophomore G/F Dylan Hooter (Mandeville, La.)
Centenary is scheduled to play 24 regular-season contests and a pair of exhibition games, with 13 home games and 13 road/neutral games for a total of 26 games. The Gents will play 16 conference games, eight at home and eight on the road and will begin SCAC play at Dallas on Dec. 8.
A link to the Gents' complete 2021-22 schedule can be found here: https://www.gocentenary.com/sports/mbkb/2021-22/schedule
Admission is FREE to all Centenary home athletic contests but be advised of current COVID-19 protocols for fans. Updated COVID-19 information is now available via www.GoCentenary.com.
Live stats and live video stream are available for all Centenary home contests. Please note that all dates and times are subject to change.
#GoCentenary #CTheOpportunity
