Gents Drop Conference Opener On Friday At Austin College, 74-65

Sherman, Texas - The Centenary men's basketball team lost 74-65 to Austin College in its Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference opener on Friday night at Hughey Gym.

The Gents (3-5, 0-1 SCAC) will be back in action on Saturday against the University of Dallas Crusaders in Irving, Texas at 4 p.m. The 'Roos improved to 5-3 and 1-0 in league play with the win.

Austin College led 37-26 at halftime and the Gents outscored the 'Roos in the second half by a score of 39-37, but the 11-point deficit was too much for the Maroon and White to overcome. The Gents shot just 30.5 % (18-59) from the floor for the game and 20 % (5-25) from beyond the arc but were strong at the free throw line, making 24-33 attempts for 72.7 %. The 'Roos shot the ball well from the floor (29-56 for 51.8 %) and made 7-17 attempts from 3-point range for 41.2 %, but struggled at the FT line, making just 9-17 attempts for 52.9 %.

Centenary won a close rebounding battle, 39-36, and forced 13 turnovers which led to 11 points. The Gents only turned the ball over 11 times which led to just nine points for the 'Roos. Austin College finished with a 34-26 advantage in points in the paint and 29-22 in bench points. Centenary had a 16-8 edge in second-chance points and each team scored six fast break points. The 'Roos shot 50 % (15-30) overall in the first half and increased that to 53.8 % in the second half while Centenary finished only 30.8 % in the first half and 30. 3 % in the second.

Senior F Seth Thomas (Kilgore, Texas) led the Gents with 20 points on 5-12 shooting in 24 minutes. He grabbed six rebounds and had three steals and two assists and finished 10-13 at the FT line. Thomas reached double figures for the eighth-straight game and has now scored 20+ points four times this season and two games in a row.

Sophomore G Dalyn Davis (Natchitoches, La.) scored 12 points and freshman F Khristian Wilkerson (Killeen, Texas) added 10. Freshman G Gerald Murage (Irving, Texas) scored seven, junior F Jakobi Greenleaf (Houston, Texas) had six, and senior G AJ Hall (Thibodaux, La.) scored five. Sophomore G Quentin Beverly (Katy, Texas) chipped in three and senior G Coby Harris (Lafayette, La.) had two.

Davis played 32 minutes off the bench and was 3-11 from the floor and 5-8 from the FT line with one trey, three assists, and a team-high nine rebounds. Wilkerson was 4-5 at the FT line, 2-9 from the floor and hit a pair of treys in his 23 minutes with a rebound. Murage played 36 minutes and was 5-6 at the FT line with six boards, Greenleaf played 35 minutes and was 3-4 from the floor with six rebounds, two assists, and two steals, and Hall came off the bench and hit one trey and had a steal in his 10 minutes. Beverly played 14 minutes and hit one trey with two rebounds and a steal and Harris played eight minutes and had a pair of rebounds and a steal. Senior G Jalen Behr (Athens, Ga.) was held scoreless in eight minutes with one rebound and junior C Ruben Cazares (Tucson, Ariz.) also did not score but  grabbed three rebounds in three minutes off the bench.

Kidus Getenet led all scorers with 26 points and Tristan Dick had 14 off the bench. Jackson Rennie and Nate Williams each scored seven, and the 'Roos received a combined 20 points from five others. Getenet played 30 minutes and was 10-13 from the floor, 3-5 from 3-point range, and 3-3 at the FT line with three rebounds and a pair of assists.

The Gents started out hot, leading 5-0 and 9-2 just two minutes into the game, as Thomas scored all nine of Centenary's points, but then the Maroon and White did not score for five minutes until a layup by Davis at the 13:10 mark made it 11-10 Gents. Wilkerson sank one of two FT's at the 7:50 mark to tie the game at 15-15, but the 'Roos finished the half on a 22-11 run to take a double-digit lead to the locker room.

A trey by Joe extended the Austin College lead to 46-26 at the 17:54 mark of the second half, but the Gents chipped away and after a tip-in by Davis with 9:30 left, the AC lead was cut to just seven at 54-47. Consecutive treys by Hall and Wilkerson in a span of just 23 seconds brought Centenary within three points at 58-55 with 6:25 remaining. Wilkerson was fouled on a 3-point attempt and made all three to make it 63-60 Austin College with just over four minutes left. The 'Roos, though, scored the next five points to make it 68-60, and a key trey by Getenet and several clutch free throws in the final minute allowed the 'Roos to seal the win.

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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