Gents Clinch SCAC Tournament Berth With Win At Southwestern

Georgetown, Texas - The Centenary men's basketball team clinched a berth in the upcoming Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference Championship as the Gents extended their winning streak to a season-best five games with an 85-64 victory over the Southwestern University Pirates on Saturday in a league contest inside the Corbin Robertson Center.

The Gents (14-9, 9-5 SCAC) earned a sweep of the season series over the Pirates (2-22, 1-14 SCAC) following a victory over them last month at home. Centenary is alone in third place in the conference standings, one game behind St. Thomas and 2.5 games ahead of Colorado College.

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.

Centenary, which defeated the Texas Lutheran University Bulldogs 82-74 on Friday night in Seguin, improved to 6-8 on the road finished 4-4 in road conference contests. The Gents took control of the game early and led 43-22 at halftime and then each team scored 42 points in the second half.

The Gents shot 46.9 % (30-64) from the floor, 40.6 % (13-32) from beyond the arc, and 66.7 % (12-18) from the free throw line while the Pirates were 46.3 % (25-54) from the field, but from both behind the 3-point line (5-20 for 25 %) and at the FT line (9-22 for 40.9 %).

Southwestern finished with a 30-22 edge in points in the paint and Centenary held the edge in points off of turnovers (19-7), second-chance points (6-5), fast break points (9-3), and bench points (35-20). Centenary finished with 17 assists, 14 steals, and blocked one shot while Southwestern had 14 assists, five steals, and five blocks. The Gents turned the ball over just seven times and the Pirates had 19.

Centenary tallied 10+ steals for the sixth time this season, second day in a row and fourth time in the last five games and the Gents' 14 steals are tied for their single-game season high set Friday night against TLU and last month at home against the Pirates. The Gents' 17 assists are their third-most in a game this season and marked the fifth time they have had 15 or more in a game.

Senior G AJ Hall (Thibodaux, La.) led four Gents in double figures with a team-high 16 points. Sophomore G Quentin Beverly (Katy, Texas) and junior G Craig Collier (North Little Rock, Ark.) each scored 14 and freshman G Gerald Murage (Irving, Texas) had 12.

Luke Hatcher scored a game-high 24 points to lead Southwestern and he was joined in double figures by Brock Luechtefeld with 17. Five other Pirates combined to score 23 points.

Hall reached double figures for the seventh time this season and fifth time in SCAC play as he played 16 minutes off the bench and was 6-9 from the floor, 3-6 from beyond the arc, 1-1 at the FT line and added one rebound. Beverly, who scored a game-high 23 points in the Gents' win at TLU on Friday, scored in double figures for the eighth time. He was 4-9 overall, 2-7 from 3-point range, and 4-5 at the FT line in 34 minutes with four rebounds and a steal.

Collier played just 15 minutes but made the most of his time as he finished 5-8 from the floor and went 4-6 from beyond the arc with two rebounds. He reached double figures for the 10^th time this season and made at least two 3-point baskets in a game for the sixth time this season. Murage scored in double digits for just the second time this season and first time since a 15-point effort at Belhaven in November.

Senior F Seth Thomas (Kilgore, Texas) and senior G Jalen Behr (Athens, Ga.) each scored eight, junior F Jakobi Greenleaf (Houston, Texas) had six, senior G Chrys Jackson (North Las Vegas, Nev.) added three and junior C Ruben Cazares (Tucson, Ariz.) scored four. Senior G Coby Harris (Lafayette, La.) played four minutes and was held scoreless but had an assist, a rebound and a steal and  freshman F Khristian Wilkerson (Killeen, Texas) also did not score but had an assist and a rebound in 10 minutes.

Thomas grabbed a team-high seven rebounds in his 29 minutes and was 2-6 from the floor and 4-4 at the FT line with five assists and four steals. Behr played 28 minutes and was 3-10 from the floor and hit a pair of 3-pointers. He also had four steals, tying his single-game career high, and set a new career high with seven assists. Greenleaf played 23 minutes and was 3-6 from the floor with two rebounds, two assists, and two steals. Jackson made his first appearance since playing three minutes against Dallas on Jan. 20 as he nailed a trey in his four minutes and Cazares played nine minutes and was 2-4 from the floor with four rebounds.

Collier hit a 3-pointer nine seconds into the game and that sparked a 9-0 run which the Gents held until the Pirates finally broke the ice on their end at the 15:03 mark. The Gents scored the next four points to lead 13-2 and extended their lead to 17 at the 5:27 mark on a layup by Cazares to make it 32-15. Centenary closed the half by outscoring Southwestern 11-7 to lead by 21 at the break.

Centenary's lead grew to 25 in the second half after a 3-pointer by Hall made it 62-37 at the 14:38 mark. The closest the Pirates got in the second half was 17 points and at one point, Centenary held a whopping 27-point lead following a made FT by Hall with 6:09 left that put the Gents ahead 80-53.

The Gents return home next weekend for their final two games of the regular season as they face the Schreiner University Mountaineers (Friday, Feb. 16 – 5:30 p.m.) and the Tigers of Trinity University (Sunday, Feb. 18 – Noon). Centenary will honor its six seniors following its game on Friday.

Centenary, 8-1 at home this season, is 19-3 is in its last 22 games at the Gold Dome and the Maroon and White have won 43 of its last 51 home contests.

Gents' Remaining Regular-Season Schedule:

Friday, Feb. 16: vs. Schreiner – 5:30 PM (Senior Night)

Sunday, Feb. 18: vs. Trinity – NOON

Current SCAC Standings:

1 Trinity 21-1, 12-1 SCAC

2 St. Thomas 18-5, 10-4 SCAC

3 Centenary 14-9, 9-5 SCAC

4 Colorado College 13-9, 7-6 SCAC

5 Schreiner 12-11, 7-7 SCAC

6 Austin College 12-12, 7-8 SCAC

7 Dallas 11-13, 7-8 SCAC

8 Texas Lutheran 5-19, 4-11 SCAC

9 Southwestern 2-21, 1-13 SCAC

See the complete Gents' season schedule here: https://www.gocentenary.com/sports/mbkb/2023-24/schedule

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