Shreveport - The Centenary men's basketball team recorded arguably its biggest victory of the season to date as the Gents smothered the University of St. Thomas Celts on Tuesday evening en route to a 75-60 win in a key Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference contest inside the Gold Dome.
The Gents (11-9, 6-5 SCAC) jumped all over the Celts (16-4, 8-3 SCAC) early, taking a 17-4 lead at the 13:30 mark and led 33-26 at halftime. Centenary evened the season series after falling 67-59 in the first matchup between the teams in Houston and snapped a seven-game losing streak to the Celts, having last beaten them on Feb. 27, 2021 in the Gold Dome.
Centenary won for the 19th time in its last 22 home games as the Maroon and White are an impressive 43-9 in its last 51 games at the Gold Dome. The Gents shot 49.0 % (25-51) from the floor for the game, 38.1 % (8-21) from beyond the arc, and 73.9 % (17-23) from the free throw line. The Celts finished at 38.5 % (20-52) from the floor, 36.4 % (8-22) from 3-point range, and 66.7 % (12-18) from the FT line.
The Gents outrebounded the Celts 38-25 and recorded nine assists and six steals while St. Thomas finished with eight assists, nine steals, and blocked one shot. Centenary nearly matched its season average in points as the Gents came in averaging 75.7 PPG while they held the Celts, who came into the game averaging 79.3 PPG to a season-low 60 points. The Gents won a close battle of points in the paint, 20-18, and each team had two second-chance points.
The Gents turned the ball over 14 times while the Celts turned it over 12 times. Centenary scored 14 points off of UST's 12 turnovers and the Celts scored nine points off of the Gents' nine miscues. Centenary finished with a slight edge, 14-12, in fast break points and St. Thomas finished with a 23-17 advantage in bench points.
Centenary shot 46.4 % (13-28) from the floor in the first half to take a 33-26 lead to the halftime locker room. The Gents went 4-11 from beyond the arc and 3-4 at the FT line. St. Thomas was 10-26 from the floor for 38.5 % in the first half and went 4-9 from beyond the arc and 2-3 at the FT line. The Gents were even hotter on offense after halftime, making 12-23 from the floor for 52.2 %, hit four of 10 attempts from beyond the arc, and sank 14-18 from the FT line for 73.7 %.
Four Gents reached double figures, led by 18 from senior G Jalen Behr (Athens, Ga.) while Calvin Williams IV led the Celts with 16 points, all scored in the second half. Nick Anderson scored 14 and Marion Williams scored 11. Ricky Altamarino added seven, Wesley Hooker scored five, and three other Celts combined to score seven.
Senior F Seth Thomas (Kilgore, Texas) was just behind Behr with 17 points, senior G Tykeem Singleton (Fort Worth, Texas) scored 15, and junior F Jakobi Greenleaf (Houston, Texas) had 11. Junior G Craig Collier (North Little Rock, Ark.) scored nine, sophomore G Quentin Beverly (Katy, Texas) had three, and freshman G Gerald Murage (Irving, Texas) added two.
Behr finished 6-7 from the floor, 4-5 from beyond the arc, and 2-2 from the FT line in 26 minutes with five rebounds, two assists, and one steal. He reached double figures for the fifth time this season and scored 10 of his game-high 18 in the first half. Thomas has reached double figures 18 times as he was 5-11 from the floor in 33 minutes while going 5-8 from the FT line and 2-6 from beyond the arc. He just missed another double-double, grabbing a game-high nine rebounds along with three assists and three steals.
Singleton exploded for 13 of his 15 points after halftime, making 4-7 attempts from the floor, going 4-4 at the FT line with one trey, two rebounds, an assist, and a steal. Greenleaf posted his 10th double-figure scoring game of the season as he was 5-7 from the floor in 30 minutes and 1-2 from the FT line with six rebounds and a pair of assists. Collier was 3-10 from the floor, 1-3 from beyond the arc, and 2-2 at the FT line in 25 minutes with six rebounds. Beverly was 1-5 from the floor and 1-2 at the FT line in 33 minutes with two rebounds and one steal and Murage played 21 minutes and went 2-3 at the FT line with three rebounds and an assist.
The Celts rallied from that early 13-point hole to get with five points at 29-24 followed an Anderson trey at the 1:34 mark. Collier made a layup and Behr sank a pair of free throws over the final minute and a half as the Gents carried a seven-point lead into halftime. A 3-pointer by Behr gave the Gents a 47-33 lead with 15:29 on the clock in the second half to double their lead.
Centenary's lead, however, began to shrink as Williams IV got hot for the Celts and his trey cut their deficit to 54-50 at the 7:01 mark to cap a 17-7 run. Altamarino hit a 3-pointer to make it a 58-54 game with 5:34 left but he Celts made just two baskets the remainder of the way as Singleton scored 13 points in the final 3:56 while Behr hit one shot and Murage sank a pair of free throws with 42 seconds left.
The Celts entered Tuesday's game second in the conference standings and receiving votes in the latest D3hoops.com Top 25 poll. St. Thomas trailed conference leader Trinity University (20-1, 11-1 SCAC) by two games in the standings. The Gents entered the night fifth with Schreiner University (12-9, 7-5 SCAC) in fourth and Colorado College (12-7, 6-4 SCAC) in third place. Austin College and the University of Dallas, each 5-7 in league play, are tied for sixth place. The Celts were picked to win the conference this season in the preseason coaches' poll while the Gents were predicted to finish fifth as the two teams have established themselves as annual contenders for the conference crown.
The top six teams in the standings at the conclusion of the regular season qualify for the 2024 SCAC Tournament which will be hosted by Centenary and held at the Gold Dome Feb. 23-25.
The Gents will now be on the road for their next three games, all league contests, staring with a matchup versus the Colorado College Tigers on Friday evening in Colorado Springs. Centenary won the previous matchup this season, 77-71, on Dec. 31 at home.
Gents' Remaining Regular-Season Schedule:
Friday, Feb. 2: at Colorado College – 5:30 PM
Friday, Feb. 9: at Texas Lutheran – 5:30 PM
Saturday, Feb. 10: at Southwestern – 4 PM
Friday, Feb. 16: vs. Schreiner – 5:30 PM (Senior Night)
Sunday, Feb. 18: vs. Trinity – NOON
See the complete Gents' season schedule here: https://www.gocentenary.com/sports/mbkb/2023-24/schedule
Admission is FREE to all Centenary home athletic contests. Live stats and live video stream are available for all Centenary home contests.
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