Shreveport - The Centenary men's basketball team extended its winning streak to three games as the Gents recorded a 71-63 win on Saturday over the Texas College Steers in a non-conference contest at the Gold Dome.
The Gents (4-2) avenged a home loss to the Steers (2-2) last season and are now an impressive 26-7 in their last 33 home games over the last three seasons. Centenary built a 44-22 halftime lead after a red-hot offensive start as the Maroon and White shot 45.7 % (16-35) from the floor, connected on 5-14 from beyond the arc for 35.7 % and went 7-9 at the free throw line (77.8 %).
Centenary finished 39.7 % for the game (25-63) overall, 26.1 % (6-23) from 3-point range, and 15-20 from the free throw line (75.0 %). Texas College finished with similar numbers as the Steers were 38.6 % (22-57) from the floor, were also 6-23 from beyond the arc for 26.1 % and went 13-17 from the free throw line for 76.5 %.
The Gents won the rebounding battle, 45-37 and forced 25 turnovers. Centenary, which turned the ball over 22 times, finished with 13 assists, 10 steals and one blocked shot while the Steers had 10 assists, 12 steals, and five blocked shots. Texas College used solid offensive play to climb back from the big halftime deficit, shooting 46.9 % from the floor in the final 20 minutes, hit 5-12 attempts from distance for 41.7 % and were 6-7 at the free throw line for 85.7 %. The Steers outscored the Gents 41-27 in the second half as the Maroon and White cooled off and went just 9-28 from the floor for 32.1 % and made just one trey in nine attempts.
The Gents added to their halftime lead in the first few minutes of the second half, leading 51-25 at the 16:15 mark and led by double digits for the majority of the half, but the Steers managed to cut the Gents' lead to single digits at 63-55 on a layup by Braelin Jackson with 3:00 remaining. Gents' senior F Seth Thomas (Kilgore, Texas) delivered a momentum-shifting play with 2:25 remaining in the game as he beat the shot clock with a jumper as the buzzer sounded, was fouled by Jacob Keys and sank the free throw for the three-point play and a 66-55 lead.
A free throw by Kaleb Parks with 44 seconds left got the Steers within seven points at 67-60 but senior G Ralph Johnson (White Castle, La.) made a pair of clutch free throws with 39 seconds remaining, and senior G Tykeem Singleton (Fort Worth, Texas) made a basket 15 seconds later to push the lead back to 71-60 as the Gents held off the Steers' late charge and sealed the win.
Thomas scored 13 points in 25 minutes on 5-8 shooting overall and finished 3-5 at the free throw line. Junior G Braeden Board (Rayne, La.) continued his impressive play as he scored a game-high 15 points on 4-12 shooting. Board was 6-7 at the free throw line, hit one trey, and grabbed seven rebounds with four assists and three steals. Johnson was 3-4 at the free throw line with two rebounds, two steals, and an assist in 16 minutes off the bench. Singleton was 4-11 from the floor in 26 minutes and finished with eight points, six rebounds and blocked one shot.
Senior G Jalen Behr (Athens, Ga.) scored nine points in his 15 minutes off the bench on 3-6 shooting with one trey and went 2-2 at the free throw line. He matched Board with a team-high seven rebounds and added an assist and a steal. Junior G Jerrick Baines (Alexandria, La.) scored eight points in 26 minutes on 3-10 shooting and hit a pair of 3-pointers. He had two assists and two rebounds. Senior G Kile Mingo (Cypress, Texas) scored seven points in 27 minutes, making 3-7 shots and hit one trey. He had two assists, two rebounds, and one steal.
Junior G Chrys Jackson (North Las Vegas, Nev.) chipped in four points off the bench in 18 minutes as he was 1-2 from 3-point range and 1-2 at the free throw line with four rebounds, an assist, and a steal. Freshman G Quentin Beverly (Katy, Texas) also scored four on 2-4 shooting in eight minutes of action. He had one steal and grabbed one rebound.
Willie Culpepper led the Steers with 14 points on 5-7 shooting in 28 minutes. He grabbed seven rebounds, added three steals and a pair of blocked shots and was 4-5 at the free throw line. Tim Denton scored 13 in 36 minutes on 5-7 shooting and went 1-2 from beyond the arc and 2-2 at the free throw line. He had five rebounds, three assists, a blocked shot, and a steal. Braelin Jackson, whose basket cut the Gents' lead to single digits late in the game, finished with nine points, three steals, and a rebound in 13 minutes off the bench on 3-7 shooting.
Jacob Keys scored seven in 20 minutes with two steals, two assists and a rebound and Kaleb Parks had six points, seven rebounds, two blocked shots, and an assist in 21 minutes. Mike Houston chipped in five points and two rebounds with an assist and a steal in 18 minutes.
Saturday's game marked the third time this season that the Gents recorded double-digit assists and steals after doing so previously against both ETBU and Piedmont. Centenary also topped 40 rebounds for the third time this season and nearly matched its season high of 49 accomplished in its 101-64 season-opening win over Arlington Baptist on Nov. 8.
The Gents now remain at home next weekend to open Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference play as they face Trinity University on Friday, Dec. 2 at 7:30 p.m. and then Schreiner University on Sunday, Dec. 4 at 3 p.m. The Gents were picked to finish fourth in the SCAC preseason coaches' poll while Trinity was the preseason favorite and Schreiner was picked to finish third.
Centenary has established itself as one of the most successful programs in the conference under head coach Chris Dorsey, winning 45 conference games in the last five seasons and its 38 wins from 2017-21 season led the conference in that span. The Gents are now an impressive 25-13 in their last 38 conference games dating back to Jan. 25, 2020. Centenary has made four trips to the SCAC championship game under Dorsey, and also have two semifinal appearances and one title (2020-21 season).
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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