Gents On Road To End Regular Season For Pair Of Key SCAC Games
The Centenary men's basketball team will close its regular season on the road this weekend with a pair of critical Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference contests beginning with matchup with the Southwestern University Pirates on Friday at 5:30 p.m. at the Robertson Center.
Georgetown, Texas - The Centenary men's basketball team will close its regular season on the road this weekend with a pair of critical Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference contests beginning with matchup with the Southwestern University Pirates on Friday at 5:30 p.m. at the Robertson Center.
Live stats and live video are available for the game at the links below:
Stats: https://www.southwesternpirates.com/sports/m-baskbl/2021-22/boxscores/20220218_58w8.xml
Video: https://portal.stretchinternet.com/swu/
The Gents (11-11, 6-8 SCAC) fell to the St. Thomas Celts, 68-53, on Sunday in their final home game of the regular season on Senior Day. Centenary finished 9-3 at home this season as the Maroon and White are an impressive 24-6 over the last 30 games on their home court. The Gents will face Texas Lutheran on Sunday at 2 p.m. in the regular-season finale.
Centenary, 2-7 on the road this season, now faces a pair of teams this weekend in similar situations as all three are fighting for a berth in next weekend's (Feb. 25-27) SCAC Tournament in Sherman, Texas. The top six teams in the conference standings after the conclusion of the regular season qualify for the conference tournament. The Gents are currently tied for fourth with TLU and a half game ahead of both Southwestern and Dallas. Centenary went 1-1 versus Dallas this season and defeated both TLU and Southwestern at home last month. St. Thomas (13-2), Trinity (12-3), and Schreiner (11-4) are currently the top three teams in the standings.
The Gents, who average 75.3 PPG to rank fifth in the conference, erupted offensively in their previous meeting this season with the Pirates, recording a 105-69 blowout victory on Jan. 12 in the Gold Dome. Southwestern is sixth in the conference averaging 71.8 PPG. Centenary also leads the SCAC in 3-point FG % as the Gents shoot 34.1 % from beyond the arc and they lead the conference in 3-point FG's made (195 total/9.8 per game).
Centenary's strength this season, though, is on the defensive end as they currently rank second in the conference in scoring defense, allowing just 70.2 PPG and are also second in 3-point FG & defense and fifth in overall FG % defense. The Gents lead the conference in turnover margin forcing 20.6 per game, lead the league in blocked shots, rank second in steals, and are third in assist to turnover ratio.
Senior F Jarrell Taylor (Leesville, La.) enters the weekend as the Gents' leading scorer this season averaging 11.7 PPG. Senior G AJ Hall (Thibodaux, La.) is second on the team, averaging 11.0 PPG, and junior F Seth Thomas (Kilgore, Texas) is third at 9.8/game. Taylor, Hall, and Thomas all rank in the top 20 in the conference in scoring. Taylor is also the Gents' leading rebounder, averaging 5.3 per game and is Centenary's top shooter this season (44.9 %) to rank in the top 15 in the conference in both categories. Taylor has reached double figures 12 times this season and has scored 15 or more points in a game six times. He is ninth in defensive rebounds, eighth in 3-point FG's made, and leads the conference in 3-point FG %.
Hall has scored in double figures 12 times this season, topped 20 points twice, and scored 12+ points 10 times. Hall's 34 points against Southwestern on Jan. 12 are the most scored by a SCAC player in a game this season and his nine 3-point baskets made in that game are also a season single-game high. Eleven of Hall's double-digit scoring performances have come in conference play. Hall is fifth in the league in 3-point FG's made and eighth in 3-point FG %.
Thomas has reached double figures eight times this season with seven of those coming in conference play. Thomas ranks 10th in the league in free throw percentage (75.6 %), is fourth in steals, and tied for eight in blocked shots, and 15th in offensive rebounds.
Senior G Kile Mingo (Cypress, Texas) scored 10 points on Sunday and grabbed two rebounds and had one assist in 20 minutes. He was 4-7 overall, 1-2 from the free throw line and made one 3-pointer. Mingo now has 147 career treys and needs just four more to move into the program's all-time top 10. He is also two steals away from 100 for is career. Mingo is averaging 7.5 PPG this season, 2.6 rebounds per game, and 1.4 steals per game. He ranks in the top 15 in the conference in 3-point FG %, 3-point FG's made, and steals.
Junior G Ralph Johnson (White Castle, La.) and senior G Tevin Baker (Port Arthur, Texas) each rank in the top 15 in the conference in assists and Baker and junior G Jalen Behr (Athens, Ga.) are currently in the top 15 in steals along with teammates Mingo and Thomas. Junior F Joseph Wiggins (Bossier City, La.) and sophomore G Braeden Board (Rayne, La.) join Thomas in the top 15 rankings in blocked shots. Johnson averages 6.7 PPG, Baker 3.1, Behr 7.2, Wiggins 5.2, and Board 7.0.
Kyle Poerschke is Southwestern's leading scorer and the top scorer in the conference averaging 17.0 PPG. He is also the team leader in rebounding (7.4/game). Five Pirates average eight points or more per game or better to lead a balanced offense. Poerschke scored 16 in 28 minutes in the previous meeting between the two teams last month.
Centenary's regular-season finale on Sunday versus Texas Lutheran is set for 2 p.m. in Seguin, Texas. Live stats and live video will be available for the game. TLU faces Austin College on Friday night at home. Below are the current conference standings and remaining schedules for each team:
1 St. Thomas 19-5 (13-2 SCAC): Colorado College
2 Trinity 20-4 (12-3 SCAC): at Dallas
3 Schreiner 13-11 (11-4 SCAC): Dallas
T4 Centenary 11-11 (6-8 SCAC): at Southwestern; at TLU
T4 Texas Lutheran 8-14 (6-8 SCAC): Austin College; Centenary
T6 Southwestern 8-15 (5-9 SCAC): Centenary; Austin College
T6 Dallas (7-15, 5-9 SCAC): at Schreiner: Trinity
8 Colorado College 7-17 (5-10 SCAC): at St. Thomas
9 Austin College 5-18 (2-12 SCAC): at TLU; at Southwestern
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.
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