Gents Set To Face Celts In Key SCAC Contest On Tuesday

Houston - The Centenary men's basketball team is back in action on Tuesday evening as the Gents will face the University of St. Thomas Celts in a Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference contest set for 5:30 p.m. inside the Jerabeck Activity and Athletics Center.

Live stats and live video are available for the game at the links below:

Stats: https://ustcelts.com/sports/mbkb/2023-24/boxscores/20231212_xm68.xml

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=exvRRBQAGKE

The Gents (5-5, 1-1 SCAC) took a break from conference play on Tuesday and flexed their offensive muscles in an 85-45 win over Millsaps at home. The Celts (7-2, 1-1 SCAC) look to remain undefeated at home as they are 5-0 on their home court so far this season. St. Thomas split a pair of league games last weekend, defeating Austin College and losing to Dallas.

Gents' Individual Season Statistical Leaders:

Scoring: Senior F Seth Thomas (Kilgore, Texas) – 19.8 PPG

Rebounding: Thomas – 6.9/game

Assists: Thomas – 2.9/game

Blocked Shots: Freshman F Khristian Wilkerson (Killeen, Texas) – 0.6/game

Steals: Thomas – 1.7/game

The Gents are averaging 77.1 PPG and 33.8 rebounds per game, shooting 40.3 % from the floor, 31.9 % from beyond the arc, and 71.9 % from the free throw line. The Celts average 79.4 PPG and 36.3 rebounds/game, shoot 45.4 % from the floor, 34.2 % from beyond the arc, and 75.3 % from the FT line.

The Gents enter Tuesday's action ranked in the top five in the conference in both scoring offense and defense as well as in six other statistical categories - scoring margin, free throw %, field goal % defense, 3-point FG % defense, assist to turnover ratio and turnover margin. Centenary is also the conference leader in 3-point FG's made (79) and average 8.8 per game.

Tuesday's game will feature the league's top two scorers – the Celts' Calvin Williams IV (21.0 PPG) and senior F Seth Thomas (Kilgore, Texas) – 19.8 PPG. Thomas also ranks eighth in the league in rebounding (6.9/game) as he leads the Gents in scoring, rebounding, assists, steals, and is second in blocked shots.

Thomas was named the SCAC Men's Basketball Player of the Week on Monday after he averaged 25.3 PPG in Centenary's three games last week while shooting 52.5 % from the floor highlighted by a career-high 34 points in a 91-87 win at Dallas on Saturday as he topped 30 points for the first time as a Gent.

He has reached double figures in all 10 contests this year, scored 20+ points six times this season and has scored in double figures for the 33^rd time in his last 36 games. He recorded his first double-double of the season in the win over Millsaps with 27 points, 11 rebounds, two steals and one assist. Thomas has been named SCAC Men's Basketball Player of the Week twice this season and six times in his career.

The Celts were picked to win the conference this season in the preseason coaches' poll while the Gents were predicted to finish fifth as the two teams have established themselves as annual contenders for the conference crown. Centenary aims to snap a six-game losing streak to St. Thomas with its most recent win coming on Feb. 27, 2021 in the Gold Dome. Three of the games between the two teams have been decided by four points or less and five have been decided by 11 or less.

Junior F Jakobi Greenleaf (Houston, Texas) is second on the team in scoring (10.1 PPG), sophomore G Dalyn Davis (Natchitoches, La.) ranks third (8.0 PPG), sophomore G Quentin Beverly (Katy, Texas) is fourth at 7.6 PPG and senior G Jalen Behr (Athens, Ga.) is fifth at 7.1 PPG.

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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