Shreveport- The Centenary men's basketball team took a break from Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference play on Thursday night as the Gents defeated the John Melvin University Millers by a score of 95-59 in a non-conference contest at the Gold Dome.
The Gents improved to 17-6 and extended their winning streak to five games while upping their home record to 12-2. John Melvin dropped to 2-14 on the season with the loss. Thursday marked the first meeting between the two schools.
The Gents continued their relentless defense of late as they have now held 19 of their 23 opponents to 70 points or less and done so in six straight games, 60 or less 12 times, to 55 or less nine times.
The Gents jumped out to a 42-23 lead at the half and continued to pour it on after the break, outscoring the Millers 53-36. Centenary shot 35.4 % (29-82) from the floor for the game, 29.8 % (17-57) from beyond the arc, and 20-29 from the free throw line for 69 %. John Melvin shot 40.8 % (20-49) from the floor, 43.8 % (7-16) from 3-point range, and 12-20 (60 %) from the FT line.
Centenary grabbed 55 rebounds to John Melvin's 44 and forced the Millers into 35 turnovers while only turning the ball over 14 times. The Gents turned the Millers' 35 TO's into 25 points while the visitors could only manage four points off of Centenary's miscues. Centenary edged John Melvin, 24-22, in points in the paint and scored 21 second-chance points to only four for the Millers. The Maroon and White scored 15 fast break points to the Millers' eight and the Gents' bench was a pivotal part of the game, contributing 49 points while the Millers only received eight bench points.
The Millers made half (10-20) of their shots from the floor in the second half and 5-7 from beyond the arc, but the large halftime deficit was too much to overcome. Additionally, the Millers committed 19 of their 35 TO's in the second 20 minutes and were outrebounded 27-14.
Senior G Tykeem Singleton (Fort Worth, Texas) scored a game-high 22 points to lead the Gents on offense while senior G Jalen Behr (Athens, Ga.) had 19. Freshman G Quentin Beverly (Katy, Texas) scored 15 and junior G/F Dylan Hooter (Mandeville, La.) had a season-high seven. Senior G Kile Mingo (Cypress, Texas) scored six and junior G Coby Harris (Lafayette, La.) and freshman G Dalyn Davis (Natchitoches, La.) also scored six points each – season highs for both.
Singleton's 22 points are a career high and has now scored in double figures 12 times this season and topped 20 points twice. He was 7-16 from the floor, 2-5 at the FT line, and a sizzling 6-14 from 3-point range. Singleton grabbed five rebounds and had five steals, two assists, and a blocked shot in 26 minutes. He finished just three makes and attempts shy of the all-time Gold Dome records for 3-point FG attempts (17) and makes (9). Behr also recorded a new career high in points with his 19 and reached double figures for the sixth time this season. He was 4-10 from beyond the arc and has hit 12 treys over his last five games and made at least two in a game an impressive 10 times this season. He was 7-15 overall in 21 minutes with eight rebounds, two assists, and a steal.
Beverly reached double figures for the sixth time this season and has scored 15 or more in five of those six games. He scored 15 points for the second game in a row and was 4-10 overall, 3-7 from beyond the arc, and 4-6 at the FT line in 27 minutes with three rebounds and a steal. Hooter played 23 minutes for the second-straight game and was 32-4 at the FT line as he tied his season high in rebounds with eight and added a steal.
Mingo played 15 minutes and hit a pair of treys, grabbed two rebounds, had two steals, and an assist. Harris came off the bench and played 10 minutes and was 4-4 from the FT line with three assists and a rebound. Davis played a season-high 12 minutes and hit a pair of 3-pointers in five attempts with two rebounds and an assist. Junior G Chrys Jackson (North Las Vegas, Nev.) added three points and tied his season high with six rebounds.
Senior F Seth Thomas (Kilgore, Texas) was held below double digits for the first time in 18 games but still grabbed six rebounds and was 2-5 from the floor and 3-4 at the FT line with an assist, a blocked shot and a steal in his 19 minutes. Junior G Braeden Board (Rayne, La.) was held to just two points but he was productive with four rebounds, three blocked shots, and three steals in 14 minutes. Senior G Ralph Johnson (White Castle, La.) was held scoreless but finished with five assists, two steals and two boards and senior F Xavier Johnson (Baker, La.) had two points and a rebound off the bench in three minutes.
Donald Calais led three Millers in double figures with 16 points. Blayne Copper had 11 and Devin Session scored 10. Calais recorded a double-double with a game-high 12 rebounds in his 39 minutes. Dayne Bordelon and Tristan Broussard combined to score 15.
Centenary returns to conference play next week, Tuesday, Feb. 14 (7:30 p.m.) versus league leader St. Thomas (21-2, 14-0 SCAC) in Houston, Texas. The Gents are 10-4 in conference play and in second place behind the Celts.
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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