Gents Set For Pair of Games In Millsaps College Tournament This Weekend
The Centenary men's basketball team will compete in the Millsaps College Tournament this weekend, beginning with a 4 p.m. non-conference contest against the East Texas Baptist University Tigers at the Hangar Dome.
Jackson, Miss. – The Centenary men's basketball team will compete in the Millsaps College Tournament this weekend, beginning with a 4 p.m. non-conference contest against the East Texas Baptist University Tigers at the Hangar Dome.
Live stats and live video will be available for the game at the links below:
Stats: https://portal.stretchinternet.com/millsaps/stats.htm?eventId=670147&streamType=video
Video: https://portal.stretchinternet.com/millsaps/portal.htm?eventId=670147&streamType=video
Tournament Central: http://ow.ly/kntu50GSnp7.
The Gents (1-1) will either play at 4 or 6 p.m. on Sunday versus host Millsaps or Huntingdon College. The consolation game is set for 4 p.m. with the championship between the two Saturday winners at 6 p.m. ETBU is 0-1 on the season after a loss to St. Thomas at home on Nov. 11 at home, 64-54. The Gents and Tigers are meeting for the first time since Dec. 9, 2019 when the Tigers picked up an 85-69 win in Marshall, Texas. Centenary received votes in last month's D3Hoops.com top 25 preseason poll and is one of the favorites in the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference this season.
Centenary lost its first game of the season, 62-46, to the Louisiana Christian University Wildcats on Tuesday evening in a non-conference contest in Pineville, La., as the Gents were on the road for the first time this season. The Maroon and White recorded a season-opening 87-77 victory over the Arlington Baptist University Patriots on Nov. 9 at home and then fell 86-69 to LSUS on Nov. 11 in an exhibition contest at the Gold Dome.
Centenary was led in scoring on Tuesday by junior F Seth Thomas (Kilgore, Texas), senior F Jarrell Taylor (Leesville, La.), and Junior G Ralph Johnson (New Iberia, La.) as each scored eight points. Thomas grabbed a team-high seven rebounds, had three steals, and had one assist and one blocked shot. He also went 4-4 from the free throw line and played 24 minutes.
Taylor shot 4-10 from the floor in 19 minutes off the bench and grabbed five rebounds while Johnson played 29 minutes and had three assists, three steals, and two rebounds. Senior G Kile Mingo (Cypress, Texas) added five points in 23 minutes as he was 1-4 from the floor, 1-2 from beyond the arc and made both of his free throw attempts. He collected three rebounds and a pair of steals.
Sophomore G Braeden Board (Rayne, La.) played 24 minutes and scored two points with four rebounds and a steal. Senior G Tevin Baker (Port Arthur, Texas) made his first start of the season and scored four points in 18 minutes as he made 2-3 attempts from the floor and grabbed two rebounds, tallied two assists, and had two steals. Junior G Jalen Behr (Athens, Ga.) scored five points in 17 points off the bench and went 2-5 from the floor, made one trey, and blocked a shot. Senior G AJ Hall (Thibodaux, La.) played 22 minutes and scored four points as he made 2-3 FG attempts. He added two rebounds and a steal.
Centenary struggled offensively, shooting just 26.1 % for the game from the floor as the Gents made only 18 of their 69 shot attempts and made only two three pointers in 21 attempts, but the Gents did force 24 turnovers and had 12 steals and only turned the ball over 12 times.
The Wildcats took a 32-19 halftime lead after shooting an impressive 48.3 % from the floor and grabbed 26 rebounds. The game was back and forth for the first 10 minutes of the opening half as the teams traded baskets and stayed within a point or two of each other. A pair of free throws by Thomas cut the Wildcats' lead to 13-12 at the 10:02 mark but the second 10 minutes belonged to the home team as LCU ended the half on a 19-7 run.
A three-pointer by Mingo cut the deficit to just six at 32-26 at the 16:24 mark of the second half but the Gents would only score four more points over the next seven and a half minutes and the Wildcats wound up with a 13-point lead at the 9:34 mark after a trey by Kae'ron Baker made it 43-30. Centenary would get the lead to single digits on multiple occasions down the stretch by the Wildcats were able to close the win out.
The Wildcats finished with a slight advantage in points in the paint (28-26) and bench points (25-19). The Gents scored 19 points off turnovers while LCU picked up 15. The aggressive Gents recorded 16 second-chance points to just five for the home team and Centenary picked up seven fast break points while the Wildcats had just two.
Taylor is the Gents' leading scorer so far this season, averaging 12.5 points per game, while six others average at least 6.5 PPG. Board is second on the team at 9.5 PPG. Taylor, Thomas, and Board are all tied for the team lead in rebounds per game at 5.0/game. Board scored a career-high 17 points in the Gents' season-opening 87-77 win over Arlington Baptist University as he notched 10 first-half points as he was perfect (3-3) from three-point range and finished the game with six rebounds, three steals, and an assist. He played 28 minutes and finished 6-9 from the floor including 4-5 from beyond the arc. Board scored six points (6-6 from the free throw line) in 25 minutes against LSUS and added for rebounds, four steals, an assist, and a block. Taylor and Baker will face their former team on Saturday as each previously played for the Tigers.
Centenary will finish up the road trip at Mississippi University for Women on Tuesday, Nov. 23 in Columbus, Miss. at 2 p.m. The Gents' next home game is Tuesday, Nov. 30 versus Millsaps at 6 p.m.
A link to the Gents' complete 2021-22 schedule can be found here: https://www.gocentenary.com/sports/mbkb/2021-22/schedule
Admission is FREE to all Centenary home athletic contests but be advised of current COVID-19 protocols for fans. Updated COVID-19 information is now available via www.GoCentenary.com.
Live stats and live video stream are available for all Centenary home contests. Please note that all dates and times are subject to change.
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