Gents Picked Third in SCAC Preseason Poll
The Centenary men's basketball team is picked to finish third in the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference for the 2021 season, it was announced on Wednesday following exclusive voting by the league's head coaches.
Lawrenceville, Ga. - The Centenary men's basketball team is picked to finish third in the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference for the 2021 season, it was announced on Wednesday following exclusive voting by the league's head coaches.
The Gents, led by fourth-year head coach Chris Dorsey, received 49 points and one first-place vote, and are predicted to finish only behind St. Thomas University, who received 59 points and five first-place votes, and Texas Lutheran (58 points/3 first-place votes). The University of Dallas and Trinity University are predicted to finish fourth (tie) with 35 points apiece.
Centenary is coming off its most successful season in school history as the Gents won the 2020 Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference tournament title and advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the first time. The Gents' impressive season ended in heartbreaking fashion on March 6, 2020, as the Maroon and White lost to the host UT-Dallas Comets, 83-81, in the first round of the 2020 NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Championship in Richardson, Texas.
The Gents finished the season 18-10 and 15-5 in SCAC play. Centenary won its first SCAC Tournament with a convincing 77-56 victory over the Texas Lutheran Bulldogs in Kerrville, Texas. The 21-point margin of victory was the largest in the 18-year history of the SCAC tournament. Centenary earned the No. 1 seed in the conference tournament for the first time in school history and won the title game for the first time after three previous appearances came up short.
The win also marked the Gents' first men's basketball conference title since 1980 when the Maroon and White claimed both the regular season and conference tournament championships while a member of the Trans America Athletic Conference (now the Atlantic Sun Conference). The Gents set division III program era records for longest winning streak (10 games), conference wins in a single season (15), and home wins (10) as the Gents went 10-1 at home last season.
Chris Dorsey enters his fourth season as head coach of the Gents in 2021. Dorsey is 46-34 after his first three seasons with the Gents including an impressive 31-17 mark in SCAC play. He was named the 2019-20 SCAC Coach of the Year as Centenary dominated the SCAC postseason individual awards. Cedric Harris, one of the most accomplished players in Gents history, was named the 2019-20 Southern Collegiate Athletic Association Player of the Year, an All-SCAC First Team selection, and the 2020 SCAC Championships MVP. He was also named to the 2020 D3hoops.com South Region first team, one of just 15 players to earn that honor.
Sophomore guard Ralph Johnson (New Iberia, La.) was named the 2019-20 SCAC Newcomer of the Year, and he and sophomore forward Neil Hawkins (Titusville, Fla.) earned Honorable Mention all-conference honors. Harris, Johnson, and Mingo were also named to the 2020 SCAC Men's Basketball All-Tournament Team.
The Gents will play a unique, shortened schedule this season due to COVID-19 influences. Centenary will play 12 total regular-season games, all conference contests, with six at home and six on the road. The Maroon and White interestingly enough will open the season on Friday, Jan. 15 against Texas Lutheran with the tip time set for approximately 8 p.m. in the Gold Dome. The two teams, picked to finish second and third in the league this season, will of course meet for the first time since the SCAC Championship contest last spring. The Bulldogs and Gents play again on Saturday, Jan. 16 at 4 p.m.
Centenary then hits the road for four-straight games, facing Schreiner in Kerrville on Jan. 22 at 8 p.m. and Jan. 23 at 4 p.m. The Gents then travel to Dallas to face the Crusaders on Jan. 29 (8 p.m.) and Jan. 30 (4 p.m.). Centenary returns home to face Colorado College on Feb. 5 and 6 at 8 and 3 p.m. respectively and are at Austin College on Feb. 19 (8 p.m.) and Feb. 20 (7 p.m.). The Gents then close out the regular season at home on Feb. 26 (8 p.m.) and 27 (4 p.m.) versus St. Thomas.
A link to the Gents' complete schedule can be found here: https://www.gocentenary.com/sports/mbkb/2020-21/schedule
Live stats and live video are available for all home games.
2021 SCAC Men's Basketball Preseason Coaches' Poll (first-place votes in parentheses, followed by total points)
Men's Predicted order of Finish
1. St. Thomas - 59 (5)
2. Texas Lutheran - 58 (3)
3. Centenary - 49 (1)
4. Dallas - 35
Trinity - 35
6. Schreiner - 34
7. Southwestern - 22
8. Austin College - 21
9. Colorado College - 11
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