Men's Basketball Season Ends in SCAC Tournament Semifinals at St. Thomas, 67-58

Houston – The Centenary men's basketball teams' season ended on Saturday as the Gents fell, 67-58, to the St. Thomas Celts in the semifinals of the 2021 Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference Championship at the John D. Jerabeck Activity and Athletic Center.

The No. 3 seed Gents (8-4) led 36-27 at halftime but the No. 2 seed Celts (10-4) outscored the Maroon and White, 40-22 in the second half. Centenary, the 2020 SCAC tournament champion, was making its sixth appearance in the semifinals in the last eight years. The Gents, despite Saturday's loss, are an impressive 18-4 in their last 22 conference games dating back to Jan. 25, 2020.

Sophomore guard Ralph Johnson (New Iberia, La.) led the Gents with 17 points on 6-14 shooting in 37 minutes. He added four rebounds and two steals. Johnson was named to the All-SCAC Third Team earlier this week. Fellow sophomore forward Seth Thomas (Kilgore, Texas) scored 14 points, grabbed seven rebounds, had three assists and a pair of blocks in 37 minutes. Thomas was named First Team All-SCAC and was a favorite for SCAC Player of the year all season. 

Johnson and Thomas were the only two Gents to score in double figures on Saturday and only two players, Juan Hood and Christian Alaekwe, did so for St. Thomas. Centenary shot 39.7 % overall from the floor for the game while the Celts shot 34.4 %. The fact that the game was a defensive battle was no surprise as the Gents entered Saturday as one of the top defensive teams in the nation, ranking 12th in the nation in scoring defense and 20th in field-goal percentage defense. Centenary was also 12th in tunovers forced and 10th in turnover margin. The Gents ranked first in the league in scoring defense entering the game on Saturday, as they allowed an average of just 61.5 points per game. Centenary was also first in field goal percentage defense (.385), number one in turnover margin (opponents average 19.5 turnovers per game), and second in steals (average nine/game).

St. Thomas entered the game featuring one of the top offenses in the SCAC, ranking second in scoring offense (77.2 PPG) but for the third time in the three games between the two teams this season, Centenary held the Celts below their season scoring average. The teams split a pair of games on the final weekend of regular-season play at the Gold Dome as the Gents held the Celts below 70 points in both games. 

Both teams struggled from beyond the arc as Centenary made just eight of 22 attempts for 36.4 % and the Celts were a dismal 9-40 (22.5 %). The Gents outrebounded the Celts, 42-38, and had six steals and four blocks. Centenary uncharacteristically turned the ball over 19 times while St. Thomas had just nine. 

Junior forward Neil Hawkins (Titusville, Fla.) grabbed a game-high 13 rebounds in 29 minutes, with 11 coming on the defensive end. He added four points, a block, a steal, and one assist.  Sophomore guard Drew Young (Lake Charles, La.) chipped in eight points in 17 minutes as he shot 3-7 from the floor. Centenary's pair of junior guards Tykeem Singleton (Fort Worth, Texas) and Kile Mingo (Cypress, Texas) combined to score 11 points of fhe bench. Mingo played 29 minutes and grabbed five rebounds and had two asssists and two steals. Singleton had three boards and an assist. 

Centenary came out red hot on offense as the Gents raced out to a 10-3 lead after three minutes. A layup by Johnson gave the Maroon and White a 19-8 lead with 12:01 remaining. The Celts chipped away at the lead and held the Gents scoreless for roughly five minutes but never took the lead. A three-pointer and layup by Young in a span of less than a minute gave the Gents a 28-17 lead with 5:33 left in the half. A three-pointer by Johnson made it 36-27 with 35 seconds remaining and the Gents took that nine-point lead to the locker room at the half. 

The Gents shot a sizzling 51.9 % from the floor in the first half and made six of their nine three-point attempts while holding St. Thomas to just 26.5 % shooting and 28 % from the behind the arc. Centenary came out strong after halftime as a Young free throw at the 16:43 mark of the second half gave the Gents a 41-31 lead and just over a minute later Thomas nailed a three-pointer to make it a 44-33 game, matching their biggest lead of the game.

Johnson nailed a three-pointer following a St. Thomas turnover for a 47-33 lead with 14:42 remaining and it appeared the Gents were well on their way to another SCAC Championship game appearance. St. Thomas came alive and scored the game's next 15 points to take a 48-47 lead at the 7:26 mark of the half, its first lead of the game. A Johnson free throw tied the game at 48-48 with 6:26 left as it was the first point scored by Centenary in almost eight minutes. 

The Celts went on a run over the next several minutes and took a 61-50 lead with just 2:30 remaining. The Gents did not go quietly though, as a pair of baskets by Singleton and a jumper by Mingo cut the St. Thomas lead to 61-56 with 1:20 remaining. The Cellts, though, sank six free throws down the stretch and allowed just one more Centenary basket to seal the nine-point win and advance to next weekend's SCAC Championship game to face either top seed Trinity or No. 5 seed Austin College. 

The Gents the season allowing only one team to score at least 75 points against them, holding 11 of 12 opponents to less than 70 points and four below 60. Centenary set a Gold Dome (1970-present) record on Feb. 9 as the Maroon and White allowed just 37 points to Colorado College in a 51-37 win, marks the fewest points scored by an opponent in the building. The 37 points also marks the fewest number of points allowed by the Maroon and White in the division III era (2012-present). The Gents are a stellar 15-3 in their last 18 home games. 

A link to the Gents' complete schedule can be found here: https://www.gocentenary.com/sports/mbkb/2020-21/schedule. 

#GoCentenary #CTheOpportunity

Please check back later for the complete recap.

A link to the Gents' complete schedule can be found here: https://www.gocentenary.com/sports/mbkb/2020-21/schedule. 

#GoCentenary #CTheOpportunity