Shreveport - The Centenary men's basketball team will close the calendar year on its home court on Sunday afternoon as the Gents will face the Colorado College Tigers a Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference contest on New Year's Eve set for Noon inside the Gold Dome.
Live stats and live video are available for the game at the links below:
Stats: https://centenary.prestosports.com/sports/mbkb/2023-24/boxscores/20231231_gn6d.xml
Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZGtFA-OlLQM
The Gents (6-6, 1-2 SCAC) return to action for the first time since recording a thrilling 69-69 victory over the Louisiana Christian University Wildcats in a non-conference contest on Dec. 19 in Pineville. Colorado College (6-4, 2-1 SCAC) fell 82-50 at St. Thomas on Friday night in Houston and is 1-1 on the road this season.
Centenary eagerly returns to its home court where it is a stellar 38-8 in its last 46 games and has won 14 of 16. The Gents, 3-0 at home this season, will play their next three games at home and six of their next eight will be at the friendly confines of the Gold Dome. The Gents trail the all-time series with the Tigers, 13-10, but have won four of the last six meetings.
Senior F Seth Thomas (Kilgore, Texas) sank a pair clutch free throws with just three seconds remaining in the game to give the Gents the win at Louisiana Christian and enters the game in the midst of another superb season as he continues to cement his legacy as one of the Gents' top players in the division III era (2012-present) of the program.
Thomas is averaging a team-high 19.3 PPG (72nd in the country in D3) and is the conference's leading scorer. He has reached double figures in all 12 games this season and has recorded three-consecutive double-doubles. He had 18 points and 13 rebounds against Louisiana Christian, 15 points and 14 rebounds at St. Thomas on Dec. 12, and 27 points and 11 boards in an 85-45 home blowout win over Millsaps on Dec. 5. Thomas is averaging a team-best 8.0 rebounds per game and ranks fourth in the conference while also averaging 2.9 assists/game 1.7 steals/game, and 0.6 blocks/game (all team bests). He is ranked in the top 15 in the conference in field goal percentage, assists, free throw %, 3-point FG's made, and leads the league in 3-point FG %.
Junior F Jakobi Greenleaf (Houston, Texas) is the Gents' second-leading scorer (9.3 PPG) and is second in rebounding (5.8 per game). Greenleaf has started all 12 games this season, has reached double figures six times with one double-double and ranks in the top 25 in the league in both scoring and rebounding as well as FG % and steals. Senior G AJ Hall (Thibodaux, La.) is third on the team in scoring (8.3 PPG) and has reached double figures twice this season. Sophomore G Quentin Beverly (Katy, Texas) is the Gents' fourth-leading scorer (7.7 PPG) and has reached double figures four times. He ranks in the top 25 in the league in both FT % and 3-point FG's made.
Senior G Jalen Behr (Athens, Ga.) is averaging 7.0 PPG, 3.2 rebounds/game and 1.1 assists/game and ranks in the top 10 in the conference in 3-point baskets made (19) which is the second-most on the team behind Thomas. Behr has reached double figures three times this season. Freshman F Khristian Wilkerson (Killeen, Texas) is averaging 5.9 PPG and 2.6 rebounds/game, has scored in double figures twice, and is among the league leaders in blocked shots.
Junior G Craig Collier (North Little Rock, Ark.) averages 6.1 PPG, 1.6 rebounds per game, 1.5 assists/game and 0.9 steals/game with three double-figure scoring performances. Freshman G Gerald Murage (Irving, Texas) averages 4.2 PPG and senior G Chrys Jackson (North Las Vegas, Nev.) is averaging 4.0 PPG.
The Tigers' leading scorer is sophomore G Dinari Boykin (12.9 PPG) and just behind him is junior G Scott Ruegg (11.0 PPG). Senior F Trey Crawford is CC's leading rebounder at 5.9/game, just ahead of Boykin's 5.8/game.
The Gents, as a team, average 74.9 PPG this season and shoot 39.9 % from the floor. They shoot 31 % from beyond the arc, 70.9 % from the FT line, and average 33.8 rebounds/game and 11.8 assists/game. Centenary ranks in the top five in both scoring defense and offense, FT %, scoring margin, assist to turnover margin, and turnover margin.
The Tigers were picked to finish third in the SCAC preseason poll while the Gents were predicted to finish fifth. Centenary, the only SCAC program to advance to four-straight tournament semifinals, will host the 2024 SCAC Tournament Feb. 23-25 at the Gold Dome. The Tigers posted their most wins (12) since 2017-18 last year. The top six teams in the standings at the conclusion of the regular season qualify for the event.
The Gents will remain at home for a pair of league contests next weekend – Friday, Jan. 5 versus Texas Lutheran University (5:30 p.m.) and on Sunday, Jan. 7 against Southwestern University (Noon).
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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