Shreveport- The Centenary men's basketball team won its seventh-straight home game on Saturday evening as the Gents defeated the Austin College 'Roos 82-71 in a Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference contest at the Gold Dome.
The Gents improved to 11-3 on the season and 5-1 in conference play while the 'Roos fell to 5-8 and 1-4 in SCAC play. Centenary, which blasted Dallas 90-70 on Friday, is now 8-1 at home this season and winners of 31 of its last 38 home games. The Gents shot the ball well, finishing 46.6 % (27-58) from the floor while the 'Roos were also solid offensively, finishing 42.1 % (24-57) from the floor for the game.
Both teams, though, struggled from beyond the arc, as the Gents made just 7-23 attempts for 30.4 % and the 'Roos finished 9-30 for 30 %. The Gents and 'Roos both had success at the free throw line as the Maroon and White went 21-28 for 75 % and the 'Roos finished 14-20 for 70 %. Centenary won the rebounding battle, 37-34 and forced 26 turnovers. The Gents, who turned the ball over 21 times themselves, tallied 16 assists, 14 steals, and blocked three shots while the 'Roos had 14 assists, 10 steals, and four blocked shots.
Senior F Seth Thomas (Kilgore, Texas) led the Gents with a game-high 23 points on 5-8 shooting in 37 minutes. He scored 20 or more points for the third time this season and second day in a row. Thomas grabbed eight rebounds and had six assists and four steals, both game highs, with two blocked shots. He was 13-15 at the FT line and has reached double figures a team-high 13 times and done so in nine-consecutive games. Freshman G Quentin Beverly (Katy, Texas) was red hot for the second day in a row as he scored 15 points on 5-11 shooting and went 5-7 at the FT line. Beverly, who scored a season-high 19 in Friday's win over Dallas, reached double figures for the fourth time this season and had three rebounds, three steals, and one assist.
Senior G Jalen Behr (Athens, Ga.) scored 11 in 19 minutes off the bench on 4-8 shooting and went 3-7 from beyond the arc. Behr scored 13 against Dallas and hit three treys for the second day in a row. He grabbed five rebounds with two assists, two steals, and a blocked shot. Junior G Jerrick Baines (Alexandria, La.) scored 10 points in 24 minutes on 3-8 shooting, went 2-6 from beyond the arc, and 2-2 from the FT line. He grabbed three rebounds and had one assist as he reached double figures for the sixth time this season and third game in a row.
Junior G Braeden Board (Rayne, La.) scored nine points and grabbed six rebounds in 25 minutes. He added three steals and an assist as he shot 4-7 overall and made one trey. Senior G Tykeem Singleton (Fort Worth, Texas) added seven points in 14 minutes with one rebound. He was 3-7 from the floor and 1-3 at the free throw line. Senior G Kile Mingo (Cypress, Texas) scored five points in 17 minutes off the bench with two rebounds, two assists, and one steal on 2-5 shooting and one trey. Junior G Chrys Jackson (North Las Vegas, Nev.) scored two points in 16 minutes with two assists, one rebound, and one steal on 1-3 shooting. Junior G/F Dylan Hooter (Mandeville, La.) played 10 minutes and did not score but recorded two rebounds and an assist.
Jackson Rennie scored a game-high 24 points for the 'Roos to lead all scorers as he played just 16 minutes off the bench on 8-14 shooting overall and made 5-9 from 3-point range. He was 3-4 at the free throw line with two assists, a rebound, and a pair of steals. Joshua Joe, Kidus Getenet, and Nate Williams each scored 11 and Ethan Pearce and Jason Jones Jr. each had four. Tristan Dick scored three, grabbed four rebounds and had two blocked shots and an assist.
Joe and Getenet combined for eight rebounds, four assists, and three steals. Jones Jr. had a game-high 14 rebounds with two assists and two steals. Williams played 19 minutes, was 3-3 at the free throw line, and had five rebounds, three assists, a steal, and a blocked shot.
The Gents led 37-28 at halftime after shooting 44.8 % (13-29) from the floor and made 10-13 free throws for 76.9 %. Centenary forced the 'Roos into 15 turnovers and held them to 31 % shooting (9-29) and just one made 3-pointer in 11 attempts. The second half was an offensive battle as Austin College found their shooting groove and finished 53.6 % (15-28) from the floor and Centenary was 14-29 for 48.3 %. Both teams also shot 40 % or better from beyond the arc as the 'Roos were 8-19 for 42.1 % and the Gents finished 6-15 for 40 %. Centenary outscored AC 45-43 to secure the double-digit victory. Rennie was nearly unstoppable in the second half as he scored 22 of his team's 43 points.
Centenary forced 11 more 'Roos turnovers in the second half and finished the game with 29 points off of turnovers while the 'Roos had 13. Austin College received 42 bench points to 18 for the Gents and finished with a slight edge in second-chance points, 12-7.
Down 7-4 early in the game, the Gents went on a 10-0 run to take a 14-7 lead at the 11:59 mark after a trey by Behr. A layup by Jackson gave the Maroon and White a 20-10 lead with 9:13 left for their first double-digit advantage of the half. A 6-2 run over the next four and a half minutes made it 26-12 Gents with 5:53 left before the break. A layup by Beverly with 2:49 remaining in the half made it 32-19 Gents but a 9-5 finish by the 'Roos in the final minutes of the half cut their deficit to single digits headed to the locker room.
The Gents were hot to start the second half as Thomas made a dunk 11 seconds into play, Baines hit a pair of treys and a layup, and Singleton added a basket as an 11-3 run gave the Maroon and White a 49-31 lead at the 17:32 mark. A Beverly layup gave Centenary a commanding 59-38 lead with 13:02 remaining and a 3-pointer by Behr with 8:04 left made it 70-49 Gents. Rennie scored 14 points in the final eight minutes and did his best to lead the 'Roos to the win, but they never got the deficit to single digits as the Gents held firm and secured the win.
The Gents will be off for a week and return to action with a big home game versus St. Thomas on Tuesday, Jan. 10 at 7:30 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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