Shreveport - The Centenary men's basketball team will face the University of St. Thomas Celts, the current conference leader, in a critical Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference contest on Sunday afternoon at 12:15 p.m. on its annual Senior Day at the Gold Dome.
Live stats and live video are available for the game at the links below:
Stats: http://ow.ly/AQqr50HTIPi
Video: http://ow.ly/nJeI50HTIPe
Centenary will honor its four seniors in a pregame ceremony at approximately 11:45 a.m. so fans are encouraged to arrive early. The game is expected to tip off at 12:15 after a warm up period followed by the national anthem and lineups.
The Gents (11-10, 6-7 SCAC) are fresh off a thrilling 73-63 overtime victory on Friday evening over Colorado College. The game was tied at 59-59 after regulation until Centenary ran away from the visitors in the extra period, outscoring them 14-4. The Gents 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 is an impressive 24-5 over the last 29 games on its home court. Centenary is currently tied for fourth place in the SCAC standings with Texas Lutheran. Trinity and Schreiner are tied for second place behind the Celts and the Gents and TLU are just ahead of both Southwestern and Dallas. Centenary finishes its regular season next weekend against Southwestern and TLU on the road. The top six teams in the conference standings after the regular season concludes qualify for the SCAC Tournament (Feb. 25-27 in Sherman, Texas).
The Celts (17-5, 11-2 SCAC) have won six in a row and defeated Austin College by a score of 82-68 on Friday in Sherman, Texas to pick up a road victory. St. Thomas' two conference losses this season are at home to Schreiner at and Trinity. Centenary lost the first meeting between the teams this season, 70-59, in Houston back on Jan. 9. The Gents and Celts met three times last season with the Celts winning two of the three matchups. The teams split a pair of regular-season games in Shreveport as St. Thomas won 66-63 and the Gents followed with a 71-69 win a day later and then the Celts ended Centenary's season in the semifinals of the 2021 SCAC Tournament with a 67-58 win last March. The teams split a pair of meetings during the Gents' run to a conference tournament title and NCAA Tournament berth during the 2019-20 season.
The Celts enter Sunday's play averaging 77.0 PPG, 39.7 rebounds per game and are shooting 43.9 % overall from the floor this season. They shoot 69.7 % from the free throw line, 32.2 % from beyond the arc, and average 16.5 assists per game. The Gents average 75.2 PPG, 34.7 rebounds per game and shoot 41.1 % as a team from the floor. Centenary shoots 67.4 % from the line, 34.8 % from 3-point range, and averages 12.7 assists per game. St. Thomas only has one player, senior G Christian Alaekwe (15.0 PPG) averaging double figures this season but nine Celts average at least 5.0 PPG with five averaging 7.0 or better. Three Gents average in double figures this season, as senior G AJ Hall (Thibodaux, La.) and senior F Jarrell Taylor (Leesville, La.) are each averaging 11.6 PPG and junior F Seth Thomas (Kilgore, Texas) averages 10.0 PPG. Taylor is the team leader in rebounding, averaging 5.3/game.
Two Gents reached double figures in Friday's win, led by a game-high 17 from Hall and 10 from junior G Jalen Behr (Athens, Ga.). Centenary shot 47.4 % (27-57) from the floor for the game as Hall was 7-11 overall in 20 minutes off the bench with six rebounds, was 2-3 from the free throw line and made 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. THomas, fellow junior G Ralph Johnson (White Castle, La.), and senior G Kile Mingo (Cypress, Texas) each scored nine points. Taylor 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. The Gents were just 2-12 from 3-point range with one trey made by Hall and the other by Mingo. Centenary struggled offensively in the first half, going just 9-28 for 32.1 % and 0-7 from beyond the arc but was a sizzling 62.5 (15-24) from the floor and made 3-5 shots overall in OT, made one trey, and was a perfect 7-7 from the free throw line to seal the win.
With a win on Sunday, the Gents will tie the division III era (2012-present) record for home wins in a single season with 10. The Gents set the record in 2019-20 as they went 10-1 and won the SCAC tournament title and advanced to their first NCAA tournament in program history.
Centenary will honor four seniors on Sunday – G Tevin Baker (Port Arthur, Texas), Mingo, Taylor, and Neil Hawkins, a member of the 2020 SCAC tournament championship squad. Mingo can tie or possibly break a pair of records on Sunday as he needs five 3-point baskets to move into the all-time program top 10 for 3-pointers in a career, and he needs just two steals to reach 100 in his career.
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.
