Gents Defeat Southwestern To Complete Weekend Sweep

Shreveport - The Centenary men's basketball team finished off a perfect weekend at home following a 75-58 victory over the Southwestern University Pirates on Sunday afternoon in Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference play at the Gold Dome.

The Gents (9-6, 4-2 SCAC) improved to 6-0 on their home court this season after also defeating the Texas Lutheran University Bulldogs, 83-60, on Friday evening. The Maroon and White, riding a season-high four-game winning streak, are an impressive 41-8 in their last 49 home games and have won 17 of their last 19 at the Gold Dome. The Pirates fell to 1-15 overall and 0-7 in league play with Sunday's loss. The Gents continued their recent dominance in the series as they picked up their eighth-straight win over the Pirates as they have not lost to them since the 2018-19 season.

Centenary shot 46.3 % (35-54) from the floor for the game, 34.8 % (8-23) from beyond the arc, and made 17-22 attempts from the free throw line for 77.3 %. Southwestern finished 43.5 % (20-46) overall, 4-13 from 3-point range for 30.8 %, and 14-22 from the FT line for 63.6 %. The Pirates outrebounded the Gents, 36-27, but turned the ball over 25 times which led to 26 Centenary points. The Gents turned the ball over 13 times which the Pirates converted into 16 points.

The Gents, who led 34-28 at halftime, scored 32 points in the paint to the Pirates' 24 and received 44 points from their bench while the Pirates' reserves scored 15. Centenary scored 12 fast break points to four for Southwestern and the Pirates edged the Gents in second-chance points, 8-5. Centenary outscored Southwestern 41-30 after halftime to record its second comfortable win in as many games of the home weekend.

Senior G AJ Hall (Thibodaux, La.) led all scorers with 20 points while Senior F Seth Thomas (Kilgore, Texas) – 18 and Senior G Tykeem Singleton (Fort Worth, Texas) – 15 joined him in double figures as the trio scored 53 of the Gents' 75 points. Junior G Craig Collier (North Little Rock, Ark.) scored seven, junior G Kyron Powell (Fort Worth, Texas) scored six points to match his season high, and junior F Jakobi Greenleaf (Houston, Texas), sophomore G Quentin Beverly (Katy, Texas), and senior G Braeden Board (Rayne, La.) each scored three points.

Brock Luechtefeld led the Pirates with 18 points, Luke Hatcher scored 16, and six others combined to score 24 points. Luechtefeld grabbed a team-high 10 rebounds to post a double-double, and Hatcher had seven boards.

Thomas played 35 minutes and grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds as he recorded his fourth double-double of the season. He was 4-11 from the floor and 10-13 from the FT line with four steals, three assists, and a blocked shot. Thomas has scored in double figures in 14 of Centenary's 15 games this season. Hall matched his season high which he accomplished in the Gents' season-opening win over Texas College on Nov. 8 and reached double figures for the fourth time this season and third time in his last four games. Hall was 8-10 from the floor, 3-4 from beyond the arc, and 1-1 at the FT line in 23 minutes off the bench. He added two rebounds, an assist, and a steal.

Singleton played 31 minutes and was 5-7 overall and 5-6 at the FT line to score a season-high 15 points and added four rebounds and three steals. Collier played 20 minutes and had an assist and one rebound as he was 3-8 from the floor with one trey. Powell played 20 minutes off the bench and was 2-6 overall with a pair of 3-pointers and added an assist and a steal. Greenleaf was held below double digits after scoring 15 in Friday's win as he was 1-5 overall and 1-2 at the FT line with two rebounds and an assist. Beverly played just five minutes and hit a trey and Board played 24 minutes and was productive as he tallied four rebounds, three steals, and assists, and hit one trey.

The Gents shot 44.4 % in the first half and heated up to 48.1 % in the second half while the Pirates improved from 34. 8 % in the first half to an impressive 52.2 % in the second period, but 13 turnovers and constant defensive pressure and solid offense by the Gents allowed them to secure the win. Centenary had 10 of its 14 steals in the second half and made 12-16 at the FT line. Centenary finished with a season-best 14 steals, nine assists, and a blocked shot for the game while Southwestern had six steals, four assists, and three blocked shots.

Neither team held a lead greater than three points over the first eight minutes of the game until the Pirates took a 19-14 lead on a Luechtefeld layup at the 11:08 mark. Sebastian Loder's 3-pointer gave the Pirates a 22-16 lead with 6:49 left, but a trey by Hall at the 5:25 mark capped a quick 7-0 run in under a minute as the Gents took the one-point lead at 23-22. Centenary then outscored Southwestern 11-6 in the final five minutes to take the six-point lead into the halftime locker room.

The Pirates, though, quickly scored the first six points of the second half to tie the game at 34-34 following a layup by Hatcher at the 17:58 mark. The teams remained within single digits of each other for the next eight minutes until Singleton made a layup for a 55-45 lead with 10:03 left. A jumper by Luechtefeld got the Pirates within five points (58-53) with 6:24 left, but the Gents scored the games' next six points to go up 64-53 and the Pirates did not score again until a free throw by Hatcher with 3:28 on the clock. Centenary closed the game on an 11-5 run to finish the game as the Gents sank 5-6 attempts from the FT line in the final five minutes.

The Gents hit the road next weekend for a pair of league contests – Friday, Jan. 12 at Schreiner University (5:30 p.m.) in Kerrville, Texas and on Saturday, Jan. 13 at Trinity University in San Antonio in a game set for 4 p.m.

Schreiner (9-7, 4-2 SCAC) has lost four games in a row and fell 77-76 at Colorado College on Sunday. Trinity (15-0, 6-0 SCAC) defeated Colorado College on Friday by a score of 84-69 and was off on Sunday. Trinity was picked to finish second in the conference this season in the preseason coaches' poll while Schreiner was predicted to finish third and the Gents fifth. The University of St. Thomas (13-2, 5-1 SCAC) was the preseason favorite.

Current SCAC Standings:

1 Trinity 15-0, 6-0 SCAC

2 St. Thomas 13-2, 5-1 SCAC

3 Centenary 9-6, 4-2 SCAC

4 Schreiner 9-7, 4-2 SCAC

5 Colorado College 7-6, 3-3 SCAC

6 Dallas 6-9, 3-4 SCAC

7 Austin College 6-9, 2-5 SCAC

8 Texas Lutheran 3-13, 2-5 SCAC

9 Southwestern 1-15, 0-7 SCAC

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 top six teams in the standings at the conclusion of the regular season qualify for the event.

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.

#GoCentenary #CTheOpportunity