Shreveport – The Centenary men's basketball team opened its 2021 season with a gritty 61-52 comeback victory over Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference foe Texas Lutheran on Friday night at the Gold Dome.
The Gents (1-0) and Bulldogs (0-1) will meet again on Saturday at approximately 4 p.m. Live stats and live video stream will be available for the game via www.gocentenary.com.
Centenary won its ninth-consecutive conference regular-season game and 12th-straight SCAC game overall as the Gents have also won 16 of their last 21 SCAC contests. The Gents defeated TLU for the second time in a row after routing the Bulldogs, 77-56, back on March 1, 2020 to win the SCAC Tournament title in Kerrville, Texas.
The Gents are coming off their most successful season in school history as they advanced to the NCAA Tournament for the first time and 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.
The Gents were led on Friday by sophomore forward Seth Thomas (Kilgore, Texas) as he posted a double-double, scoring a game-high 18 points in 27 minutes and grabbing a team-best 11 rebounds, nine on the defensive end. He made 6 of 16 shots from the floor and was a perfect 5-5 from the free-throw line. Thomas reached double-digits in scoring for the ninth time in his career, recorded his second-career double-double, and his 11 rebounds were a career high. His previous best was 10 last season against Trinity.
Sophomore guard Ralph Johnson (New Iberia, La) sparked the second-half comeback for the Gents. Johnson, the 2019-20 SCAC Newcomer of the Year who also earned Honorable Mention all-conference honors last season, was uncharacteristically held scoreless in the first half but scored 10 points after halftime. He made numerous clutch shots in helping the Gents turn a 30-24 halftime deficit into a nine-point win.
Junior guard Kile Mingo (Cypress, Texas) scored nine points and had six rebounds in 30 minutes of action. Freshman forward Tre Washington (Gibson, La.) scored eight points with four rebounds in his centenary debut. Junior guard Tykeem Singleton (Fort Worth, Texas) added six points and three rebounds in 23 minutes and sophomore forward Neil Hawkins (Titusville, Fla.) had a productive night with five rebounds, two points, three assists, and two steals in 26 minutes. Hawkins also earned Honorable Mention all-conference honors last season.
The Gents shot 36.4 % from the field (24-66) for the game but heated up in the second half, shooting 42.4 %. Centenary shot all of its free throws in the second half and was a perfect 7-7 from the line for the game. The Maroon and White grabbed 40 rebounds, 28 on the defensive end, had eight steals, seven assists, and three blocked shots. The Gents outscored the Bulldogs, 37-22, in the second half.
Centenary held TLU to 30.2 % shooting for the game and the Bulldogs made just seven of 35 attempts (20 %) after halftime. After making six three-point baskets in the first half, the Bulldogs went cold from deep in the second half, missing all 10 of their attempts. TLU was strong on the glass though, as the Bulldogs collected 51 total rebounds (30 defensive/21 offensive). Sebastian Andrade and Caleb Lister each scored 12 points for TLU and Lister posted a double-double with 11 rebounds. Jamir Mason and Garrett Prince each had 10 rebounds.
Following Saturday's game, Centenary hits the road for four-straight contests after this weekend, 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.
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