Jackson, Miss. - The Centenary men's basketball team picked up a 68-55 victory over the Piedmont University Lions on Saturday afternoon in its first game of the Millsaps College Tournament at the Hangar Dome.
The Gents (2-2) advance to Sunday's championship game set for 3 p.m. and will face The University of the Ozarks (4-0) after the Eagles defeated the host Majors (0-3) in Saturday's second game. Piedmont (2-3) and Millsaps will meet in the consolation game at 1 p.m. Centenary is 2-3 all-time versus Ozarks but will play them for the first time since the 2016-17 season on Sunday.
Centenary shot 41.9 % (26-62) from the floor and outrebounded the Lions 37-21. The Gents were just 7-27 from beyond the arc for 25.9 % but sank 9-12 free throws and placed three players in double figures, led by a season-high 15 points from junior G Jerrick Baines (Alexandria, La.). Senior G Kile Mingo (Cypress, Texas) and senior F Seth Thomas (Kilgore, Texas) each scored 13 points.
Centenary finished with 13 steals, 10 assists, and two blocked shots but turned the ball over 25 times. The Lions also shot the ball well from the floor (43.4 %) and were also solid from 3-point range (38.1 %) but turned the ball over 26 times themselves, and only went to the free throw line four times the entire game, making one. Ryan Jolly led the Lions in scoring with 14 and only one other player reached double figures – Noah Reardon with 10. Piedmont recorded 15 assists, 10 steals, and a blocked a pair of shots.
The Gents dominated the game inside, finishing with a 36-22 edge in points in the paint and scored 23 points off of Piedmont's 26 turnovers while the Lions got 17. Centenary's bench scored 23 points while Piedmont's contributed 21 and the Gents had a slight edge in fast-break points, 10-7.
The Gents led 38-29 at the half and outscored the Lions 30-26 in the second half in the first meeting in history between the two teams. The Gents started fast, jumping out to an 11-3 lead in the first three minutes and never trailed in the first half. The Lions got as close as three points (28-25) on a jumper by Jolly at the 4:31 mark but the Gents scored the next four points to go back up by seven. A free throw by senior G Tykeem Singleton (Fort Worth, Texas) gave Centenary its biggest lead (38-29) of the first 20 minutes with 13 seconds remaining for the halftime score.
Centenary opened the second half by scoring the first five points to take a 43-29 lead with 17:12 remaining and maintained its double-digit lead for the majority of the half. The Lions cut it to seven with 2:26 left but the Gents scored the final six points of the game and held the Lions scoreless the rest of the way to seal the win.
Singleton scored six points and grabbed a team-high nine rebounds in 28 minutes on 2-6 shooting with two assists, a steal, and went 2-2 from the free throw line. Junior G Braeden Board (Rayne, La.) added six points in 30 minutes with seven rebounds and also went 2-2 from the free throw line. Board added an assist and a steal. Freshman G Quentin Beverly (Katy, Texas) played 20 minutes and scored five points with two rebounds and a pair of blocked shots.
Freshman G Cameron Walker (Bossier City, La.) scored four points in six minutes off the bench and senior G Ralph Johnson (White Castle, La.) played 13 minutes and was held scoreless but had three assists, two rebounds, and a steal. Senior F Joseph Wiggins (Bossier City, La.) chipped in two points in 10 minutes off the bench with one rebound and junior G Coby Harris (Lafayette, La.) scored four in eight minutes with three rebounds, an assist, and a steal.
Baines was 6-10 shooting overall in 30 minutes and was 2-5 from beyond the arc with five rebounds and two steals. Mingo came off the bench and played 19 minutes as she scored a season-high 13 points and reached double figures for the second time this season. He was 5-19 from the field and 3-8 from 3-point range with three rebounds, three steals, and an assist. Thomas continued his impressive season as he scored in double figures for the fourth-straight game as he played 36 minutes with five rebounds, four steals, and a pair of assists. He was 5-13 shooting overall and 3-4 from the free throw line.
Complete Tournament Info: https://gomajors.com/news/2022/11/18/mens-basketball-mens-basketball-to-host-millsaps-college-tournament.aspx
See the Gents' complete season schedule here: https://www.gocentenary.com/sports/mbkb/2022-23/schedule
Admission is FREE to all Centenary home athletic contests. Live stats and live video stream are available for all Centenary home contests.
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