Shreveport- In a fierce battle between the two top teams in the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference on Tuesday night, the Centenary men's basketball team came up short to the #17 University of St. Thomas Celts by a score of 54-50 at the Gold Dome.
The Gents fell to 11-4 and 5-2 in SCAC play while the Celts upped their record to 13-2 and remained unbeaten in league play at 7-0 after escaping with the win. The Gents held a slight edge, 27-25, at halftime and then the Celts outscored the Maroon and White 29-23 in the second half. The Gents lost for just the second time at home all season and are now 8-2 on their home court. Centenary is still winners of 31 of its last 39 home games overall.
The game was the defensive slugfest that was expected based on each teams' lofty rankings on that side of the ball entering the night. The Gents were held to a season-low 50 points and shot just 34.7 % (17-49) overall from the floor. Centenary also struggled from beyond the arc (6-26 for 23.1 %) and the free throw line (10-16 for 62.5 %).
The Celts, whose 54 points were a season low, shot 43.8 % overall (21-48) but also struggled from deep (4-17 for 23.5 %) and from the FT line (8-15 for 53.3 %). St. Thomas turned the ball over 17 times while the Gents gave it away 11 times. St. Thomas finished with a decisive edge in rebounding, 39-27. Centenary had nine assists, nine steals, and two blocked shots while St. Thomas tallied six assists, six steals, and five blocks.
The Celts shot 39.3 % from the floor in the first half and heated up after halftime, finishing an even 50 % (10-20) and only turned the ball over six times after 11 giveaways in the first 20 minutes. The Gents, who shot 37.5 % from the floor in the first half, dipped to 32 % (8-25) after halftime.
Senior F Seth Thomas (Kilgore, Texas) led the Gents with 22 points on 8-10 shooting in 37 minutes. He had five rebounds, two blocked shots, an assist, and a steal and finished 2-2 from beyond the arc and 4-7 at the FT line. Thomas has now scored 20 or more points in game four times this season and for the third game in a row. He has reached double figures a team-high 14 times and done so in 10-consecutive games.
Senior G Tykeem Singleton (Fort Worth, Texas) joined him in double figures with 11 and grabbed six rebounds with four steals in 31 minutes. Singleton finished 4-8 from the floor, 2-2 at the FT line and 1-2 from 3-point range. Junior G Jerrick Baines (Alexandria, La.) added six, junior G Braeden Board (Rayne, La.) had two, and the Gents got three points each from senior G Kile Mingo (Cypress, Texas), junior G Coby Harris (Lafayette, La.), and junior G Chrys Jackson (North Las Vegas, Nev.).
Senior G Jalen Behr (Athens, Ga.) and junior G/F Dylan Hooter (Mandeville, La.) each played but did not score. Mingo's three points were significant as his one trey was his 172nd of his career which ties him with former Gent Andrew Wisniewski for seventh all-time in program history.
Calvin Williams IV led the Celts and all scorers with a game-high 26 points. He was a menace to the Gents all night, scoring half of his teams' points as he made 10-16 shots overall, 5-8 at the FT line and hit one trey. He grabbed three rebounds and had two steals. His teammates combined for just 28 total points, with no player scoring more than four. Calen Anderson grabbed a team-best seven rebounds and Andrew Adebo had six boards. Williams scored 16 of his 26 points in the second half and his layup with just 12 second left was a back breaker for the Gents as it gave the Celts their 54-50 final margin.
The first half saw the Gents lead by as many as six points while the Celts only led twice and the score was tied twice. A pair of free throws by Baines gave the Gents a 19-13 lead with 8:33 remaining, but the Celts managed to close the gap to the two-point halftime deficit following a 12-8 run. A trey by Freddie Ricks III gave St. Thomas a 29-27 lead a minute and a half into the second period and they held a slight lead until Mingo's trey gave Centenary a 33-31 advantage with 12:25 left.
The teams remained with six points or less of each other for the next four minutes until a Thomas free throw with 7:51 left put the Gents back up 39-38. Williams IV scored eight points over the next five minutes and his jumper with 2:52 left gave the Celts a 48-45 lead. Just seconds later as the shot clock expired, Thomas drained a long trey to tie the game at 48-48 and send the crowd into a frenzy.
Following a timeout, the Celts missed a shot and turned the ball over but the pesky Williams IV picked Harris' pocket clean near midcourt for a steal and raced to the goal for a layup and a 50-48 lead with 1:18 left. Baines then missed a trey and Williams IV was fouled and sank a pair of free throws for a 52-48 lead. Thomas hit a jumper with 37 seconds left to make it 52-50 but 25 seconds later just before the shot clock expiration, Williams IV made the game-sealing layup and the 54-50 lead.
Centenary will face Colorado College on Friday at home in another key SCAC contest set for 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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