Shreveport - The Centenary men's basketball team recorded a thrilling 69-65 victory over the Trinity University Tigers on Friday night in the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference opener for both teams at a raucous Gold Dome.
The Gents (5-2, 1-0 SCAC) won their fourth-straight game and continued their impressive play at home, improving to 27-7 at home over the last three seasons. Trinity, the preseason conference favorite, fell to 5-3 overall and 0-1 in conference play.
The Tigers, who began the season ranked 18th by D3hoops.com, fell out of the top 25 this week after a loss at Sul Ross State University on Nov. 23. Centenary, picked to finish fourth in the league this season, defeated the Tigers at home for the second-straight season after picking up an 87-78 win last December.
The Gents came out red-hot on offense, shooting 43.8 % (14-32) from the floor in the first half and connected on 9-21 attempts from beyond the arc for 42.9 % to lead by 10 (39-29) at the half. Junior G Jerrick Baines (Alexandria, La.) drained a trey 20 seconds into the game which fueled a 17-2 start to the game for the Maroon and White capped by a 3-pointer from junior G Braeden Board (Rayne, La.) at the 14:35 mark.
The Tigers chipped into the Gents' lead, cutting it to seven on a layup by Braxton Barry to make it 21-14 with 9:05 remaining, but a 3-pointer by senior G Tykeem Singleton (Fort Worth, Texas) 14 seconds later put the Gents back up 10 at 24-14. Centenary then hit 3-point baskets on three-consecutive possessions to the delight of the crowd, as senior G Jalen Behr (Athens, Ga.) hit a pair and Board hit the final one to make it 33-17 with 6:32 left in the half. Trinity managed to cut into its large deficit with a 12-6 run over the final minutes of the half to make it 39-29 at halftime.
Trinity opened the second half on an 8-2 run to cut their deficit to 41-37 but a pair of free throws by senior F Seth Thomas (Kilgore, Texas) gave the Gents a double-digit lead at 49-39 lead at the 12:38 mark. The next three minutes, though, belonged to the Tigers as they went on a 12-4 run as a layup by AJ Clark with 9:20 remaining made it a 53-51 game. Centenary answered with a 6-0 run for a 59-53 lead with 6:08 remaining.
The teams traded baskets over the next two minutes and a pair of free throws by Clark brought the Tigers within four at 61-57 with just 4:43 left. Centenary then scored four-straight points to make it 65-57 but Tanner Brown hit his fifth and final trey of the game to make it 65-50 with 2:47 left. Two Brown free throws at the two-minute mark made it 67-63 but the teams combined for six missed shots until a layup by Ben Hanley with 23 seconds remaining made it 67-65 Gents.
Following a timeout by the Tigers, the Gents inbounded the ball and broke the press as Thomas sent a long pass past half court to freshman G Quentin Beverly (Katy, Texas) who made a layup for a 69-65 and was fouled by Hanley. Beverly missed the free throw but Clark and Jacob Harvey each missed 3-pointers and Brown missed a pair of free throws with two seconds left to seal the Tigers' fate. Brown led all scorers with 22 points and was 7-11 from the floor, 3-5 at the free throw line (perfect until the final two misses), and 5-7 from beyond the arc. He added 10 rebounds for a double-double and had two assists and a steal.
Board led four Gents in double figures with a team-high 14 points on 6-10 shooting in 36 minutes. He recorded a double-double as he grabbed a team-best 11 rebounds and added five assists, three steals, and two blocked shots. He finished 2-4 from beyond the arc and played smart as he only committed one foul. Beverly was right behind him with 13 points and matched Board with five assists. The rookie played 31 minutes and was 6-14 from the floor, grabbed two rebounds, and had one steal.
Board reached double figures for the fourth time this season and third-straight game while posting his first double-double of the season. Beverly scored in double figures for the second time, nearly matching his season high of 15 accomplished at ETBU last month. Thomas scored 12 and also recorded a double-double with 10 rebounds. He played 27 minutes and was 5-8 overall and 2-2 at the free throw line. He had three assists and one blocked shot. The sensational senior has scored in double figures in all but one game this season and tallied his second double-double.
Singleton scored 11 and posted the third double-double of the night for the Gents. He was 4-11 overall, 2-6 from beyond the arc, and 1-2 at the free throw line in 38 minutes. He had two steals and blocked on shot while reaching double figures for the third time this season and posting his first double-double.
Behr added eight points off the bench in 22 minutes with five rebounds, a blocked shot, and a steal on 3-9 shooting with a pair of treys. Baines finished with six points, two rebounds, and two steals in 28 minutes. He was 2-6 overall and 2-5 from beyond the arc. Freshman G Cameron Walker (Bossier City, La.) came off the bench to hit a 3-pointer in the first half, his only shot attempt of the game in five minutes, to finish with three points. Junior G Chrys Jackson (North Las Vegas, Nev.) added two points off the bench with a rebound in nine minutes.
Harvey finished with 10 points, three rebounds, three assists, and a steal in 33 minutes for the Tigers, Hanley and Kaleb Jenkins each scored eight, Barry chipped in seven off the bench, and Clark had five. Zach Fenn and Griffin Levine each came off the bench to combine for five points, five rebounds, four steals, and a blocked shot.
The Gents finished 44.4 % (28-63) from the field for the game, 32.1 % (9-28) from beyond the arc, and 4-6 from the free throw line for 66.7 %. The Tigers struggled offensively, mustering just 31.4 % (22-70), were 9-30 from beyond the arc for 30 % and 12-20 from the free throw line for 60 %. Trinity edged Centenary in the rebounding battle, 47-46, and forced 18 Gents' turnovers but the Tigers turned the ball over 14 times themselves. Centenary tallied 13 assists, nine steals, and blocked five shots while Trinity finished with 10 assists, 13 steals, and four blocked shots.
The Gents finished with a 34-26 edge in points in the paint and scored 13 points off turnovers while Trinity had 12. Centenary shot over 40 % from the floor for the fifth time this season and its 46 rebounds nearly matched the season-high 49 that the Gents grabbed in their season-opening win over Arlington Baptist.
The Gents wrap up the weekend versus Schreiner University (6-1) on Sunday, Dec. 4 at 3 p.m.
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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