Shreveport - The Centenary men's basketball team outscored the Colorado College Tigers by 10 in overtime to secure a thrilling 73-63 victory on Friday evening in a Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference contest at the Gold Dome.
The Gents (11-10, 6-7 SCAC) and Tigers (6-17, 4-10 SCAC) were tied at 59-59 after regulation until Centenary ran away from the visitors in the extra period. Centenary snapped a three-game losing streak and got revenge from a 93-74 victory by Colorado College back on Jan. 7 in Colorado Springs. Centenary improved to 9-2 at home this season and are an impressive 24-5 over the last 29 games on its home court. The Tigers dropped to 0-9 on the road this season.
Centenary shot 47.4 % (27-57) from the floor for the game while Colorado College shot 40.4 % (23-57). Two Gents reached double figures, led by a game-high 17 from senior G AJ Hall (Thibodaux, La.). Junior G Jalen Behr (Athens, Ga.) scored 10 and two Tigers, Jack McRoskey (19) and Adrian Price (14) scored in double figures. Hall was 7-11 overall in 20 minutes off the bench with six rebounds. He was 2-3 from the free throw line and his one of Centenary's two made 3-point baskets on the night. He has reached double figures 12 times this season, and 10 times in conference play. Hall has scored in double figures nine times in his last 11 games. Behr was 3-6 overall and 4-6 from the free throw line in 20 minutes and grabbed five rebounds. Behr has now scored in double figures eight times this season, five times coming in conference play.
Eight Gents scored on Friday and four of the five starters scored at least seven points. Junior F Seth Thomas (Kilgore, Texas), fellow junior G Ralph Johnson (White Castle, La.), and senior G Kile Mingo (Cypress, Texas) each scored nine points. Senior F Jarrell Taylor (Leesville, La.) scored eight in 21 minutes off the bench and junior F Joseph Wiggins (Bossier City, La.) scored seven.
Thomas was 1-5 overall in 35 minutes and a clutch 7-8 from the free throw line. He grabbed seven rebounds, had three steals, and two assists. Johnson played 33 minutes and shot 4-7 overall and made his one free throw attempt. He finished with a team-high five assists. Taylor was 3-5 overall and 2-2 from the line in 21 minutes. He added three rebounds, two assists, and two steals. Wiggins got his third start of the season and played 30 minutes as she made 3-7 shots overall and went 1-3 from the free throw line with a blocked shot and a steal.
Both teams struggled from beyond the arc and at the free throw line. The Gents were just 2-12 from three-point range with one trey made by Hall and the other by Mingo. The Tigers were only 4-12 from three-point land for just 33.3 %. The Gents finished 17-27 from the free throw line for 63 % and the Tigers were 13-22 for 59.1 %. The Gents struggled offensively in the first half, going just 9-28 for 32.1 % and 0-7 from beyond the arc but were a sizzling 62.5 (15-24) from the floor and made 3-5 shots overall in OT, made one trey, and were a perfect 7-7 from the free throw line to seal the win.
The first half got off to a sluggish start for both teams as the Tigers held a 15-7 lead with 9:51 remaining before halftime. A dunk by Hall capped a 9-1 run at the 5:33 mark to tie the game at 16-16 and a layup by Hall just seconds later gave Centenary an 18-16 lead, its first since scoring the first two points of the game. The teams traded baskets over the final five minutes of the half to finish tied at 24-24.
Mingo began the second half with a 3-pointer just 15 seconds in for a 27-24 lead, but the Tigers went on an 11-2 run to take a 35-29 lead at the 16:50 mark. Colorado College led by as many as eight in the second half and despite multiple runs by the Gents to cut into the Tigers' lead, the visitors were able to fend the Maroon and White off until a layup by Wiggins off an assist by Taylor tied the game at 49-49 with 7:34 remaining in the half.
A 3-pointer by CC's Scott Cunningham, his only trey of the game, gave the Tigers a 56-51 lead with 2:31 left put the pressure on the Gents with time running out. Taylor sank a pair of free throws but then Cunningham hit a jumper with 2:18 left for a 58-53 advantage. Johnson hit a jump shot to make it a 58-55 game and McRoskey made 1-2 free throws with 47 seconds remaining. Hall made a layup to make it 59-57 and then the Tigers called a timeout with 30 seconds left. Edgar Romero turned the ball over and Johnson hit a game-tying layup with seven seconds left to send the home crowd into a frenzy. The rattled Tigers called a 30-second timeout and then both teams made multiple substitutions. Cunningham then missed a potential game-winning 3-point attempt at the buzzer to send the game to OT.
Hall nailed a 3-pointer just over a minute in to the extra period to give Centenary its first lead in over 20 minutes of play to the home crowd's delight. Taylor then made a layup and a pair of free throws by Thomas made it 66-59 with just over two minutes remaining. The Gents were a perfect 4-4 from the free throw line in the final minute of OT and a thunderous dunk by Wiggins off of an assist by Johnson with only 18 seconds left gave the Gents a 73-61 and sealed the win.
Next up for the Gents is a critical conference contest on Sunday at Noon versus the St. Thomas Celts (17-5, 11-2 SCAC) who have won six in a row and won 82-68 at Austin College on Friday in Sherman, Texas. The Celts are currently atop the conference standings while the Gents are tied for fourth place with Texas Lutheran. Centenary will honor its four seniors on Sunday at approximately 11:45 a.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.
