Montgomery, Ala. – The Centenary men's basketball team fell 83-76 to the LaGrange College Panthers on Sunday afternoon in its final game of the Hawks Classic inside Catherine Dixon Roland Arena.
The Gents (2-1) defeated host Huntingdon College 89-70 on Saturday night while LaGrange (3-0) finished undefeated for the weekend following a 100-77 win over Millsaps College on Saturday.
Centenary shot 37.9 % (25-66) from the floor, 67.9 % (19-28) from the free throw line, and finished 7-25 from 3-point range (28 %). LaGrange went 35.4 % (23-65) from the field, 28 % (7-25) from beyond the arc, and made a living at the FT line where the Panthers finished a whopping 30-37 for 81.1 %. LaGrange won the rebounding battle, 34-27, and forced 16 turnovers while committing 12.
The Gents had 12 assists, five steals, and two blocked shots while the Panthers finished with eight assists, eight steals, and one blocked shot. Centenary finished with a slight edge (28-24) in points in the pain and received 37 points from its bench. LaGrange received 25 bench points and had 14 second-chance points while Centenary had 11 and the Panthers scored 18 points off turnovers and the Gents had 15.
Senior F Seth Thomas (Kilgore, Texas) scored 18 points to lead the Gents, senior G Jalen Behr (Athens, Ga.) scored 15, junior F Jakobi Greenleaf (Houston, Texas) had a season-high 12, and freshman F Khristian Wilkerson (Killeen, Texas) scored 10. Sophomore G Quentin Beverly (Katy, Texas) scored six, and three Gents each scored three points - senior G AJ Hall (Thibodaux, La.), freshman G Gerald Murage (Irving, Texas), and senior G Chrys Jackson (North Las Vegas, Nev.).
Junior G Craig Collier (North Little Rock, Ark.) scored two points in 10 minutes and senior G Coby Harris (Lafayette, La.) also had two in his 21 minutes with three rebounds, one assist, one steal, and a blocked shot. Junior C Ruben Cazares (Tucson, Ariz.) added two points in four minutes with one assist.
Samuel Moss led the Panthers and all scorers with 19, Gabe Cofield was right behind him with 18, and LaGrange got 10 points each from Kyle Smith and Brodie Scott. Kameron McCall had nine, Trenton Dillard scored eight, Syncere Harris chipped in five, and Parker Gonzales and Isaiah Pettigrew each scored two.
Thomas finished 10-11 at the FT line with six rebounds, four assists, and one steal in 34 minutes as she was 4-9 from the floor. Greenleaf grabbed a team-best seven rebounds in his 35 minutes on 4-8 shooting and went 4-9 at the FT line. He added four assists and one steal. Behr grabbed four boards and was 6-11 from the floor and 3-7 from beyond the arc in 21 minutes.
The Gents led 41-33 at halftime after shooting 46.7 % (14-30) from the floor and connecting on 6-13 attempts from beyond the arc for 46.2 %. Centenary's offense, however, dipped considerably after halftime as the Maroon and White made just 11 baskets in 36 attempts for 30.6 %. The Gents also struggled from 3-point range, finishing 1-12 for 8,.3 % in the second half.
The Panthers outscored the Gents 50-35 in the second half to turn an eight-point halftime deficit into a seven-point win. LaGrange did not shoot the ball particularly well in either half, but the Panthers outrebounded the Gents in the second half, committed less turnovers, and went to the free throw line 30 times alone in the half, sinking 25 for 83.3 %.
The score was tied at 22-22 with 8:24 remaining in the first half before the Gents closed on a 19-11 run. A dunk by the Panthers' Kyle Smith at the 17:23 mark of the second half gave them a 44-43 lead. The teams then traded baskets as the lead changed hands multiple times over the next several minutes, but remained within two points of each other.
The game was tied at 48-48 with 14:36 remaining and then the Gents scored the next five points to take a 53-48 lead. A free throw by Greenleaf made it 54-49 Centenary with 13:13 left and that score held until a layup by Behr made it 56-49 at the 10:42 mark. Greenleaf completed a three-point play to give Centenary a 65-56 advantage with 8:51 left and a free throw by Hall made it 68-57 with 7:08 on the clock.
The Panthers, though, went on a 13-4 run to close to within 72-70 with under four minutes remaining. Thomas made a pair of free throws at the 3:47 mark to make it 74-70 Gents. Moss made a pair of free throws to regain the lead for the Panthers (77-76) with just 1:53 to play. A basket by Greenleaf with 2:30 to play that made it 76-73 wound up being the Gents' final points of the game as LaGrange completed the comeback win.
The Gents will be off for a week and then return home to face the Arlington Baptist University Patriots in a non-conference contest on Monday, Nov. 20 set for 6 p.m. in the Gold Dome.
See the complete Gents' season schedule here: https://www.gocentenary.com/sports/mbkb/2023-24/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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