Gents Come Up Short Against Wildcats, 70-63

Shreveport – The Centenary men's basketball team lost 70-63 on Monday night to the Louisiana Christian University Wildcats in a non-conference contest inside the Gold Dome.

The Gents (0-2) will have a short turnaround as they face the Texas College Steers (1-1) on Tuesday night at home in a non-conference matchup set for 7 p.m. 

Louisiana Christian used its hot shooting (17-33 from the field for 51.5 %) in the first half to take a 44-31 halftime lead. The Wildcats made 9-17 attempts from beyond the arc for 52.9 % but just 1-5 at the free-throw line for 20 %. Centenary shot a respectable 37.9 % (11-29) from the floor but struggled from both 3-point range (4-15 for 26.7 %) and the FT line (5-19 for 50 %).

The Wildcats cooled off in the second half as they shot 38.5 % (10-26) from the floor but finished an impressive 45.8 % (27-59) for the game. They were 5-13 from beyond the arc for 38.5 % in the second half and 1-2 at the FT line. For the game, LCU was a strong 46.7 % (14-30) from beyond the arc but a mere 2-7 from the FT line for 28.6 %.

The Gents were a solid 10-25 from the floor in the second half for 40 % and 11-15 at the FT line for 73.3 % but were just 1-7 from beyond the arc. They finished 21-54 from the floor for the night (38.9 %) but struggled from long range and at the FT line, making only 5-22 attempts from beyond the arc for 22.7 % and finished 16-25 at the FT line for 64 %.

LCU outrebounded Centenary 43-31 as the Wildcats grabbed 32 rebounds on the defensive end and 11 offensive boards. The Gents finished with 25 defensive rebounds and six on the offensive end. Centenary finished with a 28-18 edge in points in the paint and 16-10 in fast break points. LCU overcame 23 turnovers with its strong shooting and rebounding edge.

The Gents, who turned the ball over 16 times, scored 13 points off of the Wildcats' 23 miscues while LCU scored nine points off of Centenary's 16 TO's. Only six second-chance points were scored in the game – four by LCU and two by Centenary. The Gents finished the game with 14 steals, 10 assists, and a pair of blocked shots while the Wildcats recorded 16 assists, eight steals, and five blocks.

Senior G Craig Collier (North Little Rock, Ark.) continued the strong start to his season as he scored a game-high 24 points to follow up his 21 points in the Gents' season opener on Friday against Arlington Baptist which led all scorers. Collier, who finished just two points shy of his career-best 26 scored last season, was one of just two Gents to reach double figures as he was joined by freshman G Nicholas Addison (Cedar Hill, Texas) who finished with 10. Collier played 39 minutes and was 7-17 from the floor, 3-10 from beyond the arc, and 7-7 at the FT line. He grabbed four rebounds and added three assists and a steal. Addison, who came off the bench in the season opener to score eight, played 31 minutes and was 4-12 from the floor with five boards, two assists, and a steal. He was also a perfect 2-2 from the FT line.

Four Wildcats reached double figures, led by 17 from Devin Carter. Drew Tebbe had 13 off the bench and Omarion Layssard and Bryce Weinmunson each scored 12. LCU's bench outscored Centenary's 29-6 as Jon'Quarius McGhee and Kylan Williams each scored five. And the Wildcats got two points each from Jonothon Barnes, Corey Lombard, and Tomario Thomas.

Freshman G Trenton Thomas (Cedar Hill, Texas) scored nine and senior F Jakobi Greenleaf (Houston, Texas) and freshman G Allen Paul (Katy, Texas) each scored seven. Senior G Jalen Ned (New Orleans, La.) had four and freshman G Sirwilliam McDuffie (Houston, Texas) had two.

Thomas played 31 minutes and was 3-6 from the floor, 1-3 from beyond the arc, and 2-2 at the FT line with three rebounds and two assists. Greenleaf grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds in his 38 minutes and had seven steals, two blocked shots, and an assist. He was 1-5 from the floor, 0-1 from beyond the arc, and struggled from the FT line (5-14). Greenleaf's steals were just two shy of the program record for steals in a game held by Larry Robinson on Jan. 18, 1990) and just one away from the Gold Dome record of eight accomplished three times.

Paul played 26 minutes and was 3-6 from the floor and had one trey along with two boards and a steal, Ned played 16 minutes and was 2-4 from the floor with four rebounds, two steals, and an assist. McDuffie played 19 minutes and was 1-4 from the floor with a pair of steals and one assist.

The Gents, who outscored the Wildcats 32-26 in the second half, started the second period on a 6-0 run and LCU did not score its first points until the 15:48 mark. A layup by Addison cut the Gents' deficit to just three at 50-47 with 10:41 left, but the Wildcats stretched their advantage to eight at 57-49 with 7:16 remaining.

Thomas then made consecutive baskets, a 3-pointer and a layup, to make it a 57-54 game with 6:27 on the clock. Carter drained a trey with 4:15 remaining to give the Wildcats a 64-57 lead but after Collier sank a pair at the line with 2:47 left, it capped a 4-0 run to get the Gents within three at 64-61.

McGhee came up big after the Gents' mini run as he scored the next five points of the game to give LCU a 69-61 lead with only 1:15 remaining. Collier made a pair of FT's with 46 seconds remaining to make it 69-63 but Centenary missed its final four shots from the floor and Tebbe made 1-2 at the line with 20 seconds remaining to make it 70-63 as LCU sealed the road win.

The Gents held an early 4-0 lead but the Wildcats went on a 14-3 run to take a 14-7 lead and held leads of 21-12, 24-14, 29-17, and 31-20 throughout the half. A trey by Carter made it 36-21 with 5:54 left before the half and LCU later held leads of 39-24 and 42-26 before a pair of FT's by Thomas with two seconds left before the half made it a 13-point game at the break.

See the complete Gents' season schedule here: https://www.gocentenary.com/sports/mbkb/2024-25/schedule

Admission is FREE to all Centenary home men's basketball games. Live stats and live video stream are available for all Centenary home contests.

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