Georgetown, Texas - The Centenary men's basketball team clinched a berth in next weekend's Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference Tournament on Friday evening with a 77-55 victory over the Southwestern University Pirates in a key conference game at the Robertson Center.
The Gents improved to 12-11 overall and 7-8 in SCAC play while the Pirates dropped to 8-16 overall and 5-10 in conference play. Centenary swept the season series after recording a 105-69 blowout victory on Jan. 12 in the Gold Dome.
The Gents will either be the No. 4 or 5 seed next weekend depending on the result of Saturday's game versus Texas Lutheran (9-14, 7-8 SCAC) in Seguin, Texas at 2 p.m. The Bulldogs defeated Austin College, 73-62 on Friday to clinch a berth as well. The Centenary-TLU winner on Saturday earns the No. 4 seed and the loser will be the No. 5 seed.
Centenary came out hot offensively, shooting 48.3 % overall from the floor in the first half, making 14-29 attempts, to take a 43-21 at halftime. The Gents cooled down in the second half, shooting 35.3 % (12-34), but the decisive advantage at the half coupled with the Pirates struggling to score enabled the Maroon and White to cruise to the critical road victory. Southwestern, which shot just 25 % (6-24) from the floor in the first half, did not do much better after halftime, making just 11-31 shots for 35.5 %.
The Gents finished at 42.6 % (26-61) for the game while the Pirates ended at just 30.9 % (17-55). Both teams struggled from beyond the arc, shooting an identical 28 % (7-25), but both the Gents and Pirates were strong at the free throw line, as Centenary made 18-20 for a season-high tying 90 % and Southwestern sank 14-20 for 70 %. The Gents also shot 90 % (9-10) in a 73-52 win over MUW on Nov. 23. The 18 made free throws are also the second-most makes in a game this season behind the 25 that Centenary made in an 87-78 home win over Trinity on Dec. 19.
Southwestern outrebounded the Gents 44-38 but turned the ball over 14 times and could not do anything against the Gents' stifling defense. The Gents recorded 11 steals on Friday, marking the 13th time this season with 10 or more steals in a game and only turned the ball over eight times, their second-lowest total in game this season.
The Gents finished the game with a 14-8 edge in points in the paint and scored 13 points off 14 Pirates' turnovers. Centenary's bench contributed 16 points while Southwestern's scored 17. The Pirate finished with a slight edge in second-chance points (12-10).
Three Gents scored in double figures on Friday, led by a game-high 18 points from junior F Seth Thomas (Kilgore, Texas). Senior G Kile Mingo (Cypress, Texas) scored 17 and junior F Joseph Wiggins (Bossier City, La.) added a new career-high 13. Chris Smith Jr. led Southwestern with 13 and Zac Black and Kyle Poerschke, who entered the game as the league's top scorer averaging 17.0 PPG, each had 10.
Senior G AJ Hall (Thibodaux, La.) added nine for the Gents and junior G Jalen Behr (Athens, Ga.) scored eight. Junior G Ralph Johnson (White Castle, La.) scored five, senior F Jarrell Taylor (Leesville, La.) had four, and senior G Tevin Baker (Port Arthur, Texas) chipped in three.
Thomas added a game-high seven rebounds, three assists, two blocked shots, and a steal in 31 minutes. He shot 6-9 overall, 5-6 from the free throw line and made one trey. Thomas has now reached double figures nine times this season with eight of those coming in conference play.
Mingo played 30 minutes and made 7-12 shots overall, nailed three of his eight 3-point attempts, and grabbed five rebounds with three assists and a steal. Mingo, who reached double figures for the eighth time this season and seventh time in conference play, now has 150 treys in his career and needs just one 3-pointer to move into the program's all-time top 10. He is also one steal away from 100 in his career.
Wiggins scored in double figures for the third time this season with all three occasions coming in conference play. He eclipsed his previous season and career high by one point after scoring 12 at Schreiner on Feb. 4. He grabbed five rebounds and was a perfect 5-5 from the free throw line in 32 minutes. Hall grabbed six rebounds and had a pair of steals in 19 minutes off the bench and Behr played 21 minutes and had three rebounds and two steals to go with his nine points.
Johnson played 26 minutes and had a game-high and season-best seven assists, two rebounds and two steals. Johnson has dished out five more assists in a game three time this season, all coming in conference play. Taylor played 12 minutes and grabbed two rebounds and recorded a steal. Baker played 14 minutes and had a rebound and a steal.
Four Gents finished perfect from the free throw line, three players had at least three assists, and three had two steals apiece. Hall, Mingo, Thomas, and Wiggins each grabbed at least five rebounds.
With Friday's win, the Gents are guaranteed to finish the regular season with at least a .500 record (12-12). Centenary has finished .500 or better in all five seasons under head coach Chris Dorsey, highlighted by an 18-10 (13-5 SCAC) finish in 2019-20 which included a conference tournament title and the school's first NCAA Tournament berth.
Centenary now has 45 conference wins in the last five seasons and its 38 wins over the previous four entering this season led the conference in that span. The Gents are now an impressive 25-12 in their last 37 conference games dating back to Jan. 25, 2020.
The Gents and Bulldogs will square off at 2 p.m. on Saturday inside Memorial Gymnasium. Centenary dominated TLU in the first meeting between the two teams earlier this season, winning 95-62 at the Gold Dome on Jan 24. Live stats and live video are available for the game at the links below:
Stats: https://portal.stretchinternet.com/tlu/#live
Video: https://portal.stretchinternet.com/tlu/#live
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.
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