Shreveport- The Centenary men's basketball team returns home this weekend for a pair of Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference contests beginning with a matchup on Friday evening versus the Schreiner University Mountaineers at 5:30 p.m. as the red-shot Gents aim to continue their home-court dominance inside the Gold Dome.
Live stats and live video are available for the game at the links below:
Stats: https://www.gocentenary.com/sports/mbkb/2023-24/boxscores/20240216_pghh.xml
Video: https://www.youtube.com/live/ejWeRFOMBXg?si=fL48eJxML1YD0UjQ
The Gents (14-9, 9-5 SCAC) enter Friday's action riding a season-high five-game winning streak after a sweep on the road last weekend over Texas Lutheran University and Southwestern University. Sunday's 85-64 win over the Pirates clinched a berth in the upcoming SCAC Championship which Centenary will host next weekend at the Gold Dome.
Centenary defeated TLU 82-74 on Friday to earn season sweeps over both the Bulldogs and Pirates after home wins over each of them last month. 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.
Centenary will honor its six seniors following its game on Friday evening - G Jalen Behr (Athens, Ga.), G Braeden Board (Rayne, La.), G AJ Hall (Thibodaux, La.), G Coby Harris (Lafayette, La.), G Chrys Jackson (North Las Vegas, Nev.), and G Tykeem Singleton (Fort Worth, Texas). * Senior F Seth Thomas (Kilgore, Texas) returned for this season, his fifth, and was honored last season*
Schreiner (12-11, 7-7 SCAC) is battling to gain a berth into the SCAC Championship as the Mountaineers are currently tied for fourth place with Colorado College (13-10, 7-7 SCAC). Schreiner, 5-7 on the road this season, has lost four games in a row with it last win coming at home against Southwestern on Jan. 20. Schreiner has not won on the road since a 74-70 victory at Southwestern on Dec. 2. The Gents aim to even the season series after falling 75-71 in Kerrville, Texas last month.
That loss last month snapped, at the time, a season-high four-game winning streak for the Gents and it was a bitter defeat as the Maroon and White held a 39-30 halftime lead after an impressive first half in which they led by as many as 17 points after racing out to a 10-2 lead just four minutes into the game. The Mountaineers, though, outscored the Gents 45-32 after halftime to secure the key victory on their home court.
The top six teams in the standings at the conclusion of the regular season qualify for the SCAC Tournament. Trinity University (22-1, 13-1 SCAC) has clinched the No. 1 seed in the championship and will be the Gents' opponent on Sunday in the regular-season finale. The University of St. Thomas (18-5, 10-4 SCAC) has also clinched a berth as the Celts are one game ahead of the Gents. Centenary fell 87-77 at Trinity in San Antonio last month and split the season series with the Celts.
Gents' Individual Season Statistical Leaders:
Scoring: Thomas – 16.4 PPG
Rebounding: Thomas – 8.3/game
Assists: Thomas – 3.4/game
Blocked Shots: Thomas – 0.6/game each
Steals: Thomas – 2.3/game
Thomas is fifth in the league in scoring, third in rebounding, and second in assists. He has reached double figures 19 times this season and has posted five double-doubles. He ranks in the top 15 in the conference in assist to turnover ratio, minutes played, defensive rebounds, blocked shots, field goal %, steals, free throw %, and 3-point field goals made. He is shooting 44.7 % from the field, 35.6 % from beyond the arc, and 78.5 % from the FT line.
Hall, who averages 9.2 PPG, reached double figures for the seventh time this season and fifth time in SCAC play with his team-leading 16 points in the win last Sunday at Southwestern. Behr has scored in double figures five times this season and averages 6.5 PPG and 3.5 rebounds per game. He has hit multiple 3-pointers in game nine times this season with a season-best four in the Gents' 75-60 win over St. Thomas on Jan. 30 at home. He had four steals against Southwestern last weekend, tying his single-game career high, and set a new career high with seven assists.
Junior F Jakobi Greenleaf (Houston, Texas) is third on the team in scoring (9.3 PPG) and second in rebounding (5.2/game). Greenleaf has reached double figures 12 times this season and is ranked in the top 25 in the league in both scoring and rebounding. His 54.4 FG % leads the team and ranks third in the conference. Junior G Craig Collier (North Little Rock, Ark.) has reached double figures 10 times and scored 14 against the Pirates on Sunday despite playing just 15 minutes. He finished 5-8 from the floor and went 4-6 from beyond the arc with two rebounds as he made at least two 3-point baskets in a game for the sixth time this season.
Sophomore G Quentin Beverly (Katy, Texas) averages 8.7 PPG and has scored in double figures eight times this season and scored a game-high 23 points in the Gents' win at TLU on Friday. Freshman G Gerald Murage (Irving, Texas) scored 12 as he reached double digits for just the second time this season and first time since a 15-point effort at Belhaven in November. Freshman F Khristian Wilkerson (Killeen, Texas) averages 4.4 PPG and has reached double figures three times.
The Gents average 75.7 PPG, shoot 42.2 % from the floor, 33.1 % from beyond the arc, 71.3 % from the free throw line, and average 34.9 rebounds/game and 11.9 assists/game. Centenary averages 8.3 steals/game and has recorded 10+ steals six time this season and did so in both games last weekend and has done so four times in the last five games.
The Gents had a season-high 14 steals on Sunday against Southwestern after also swiping 14 on Friday against TLU and also did so last month at home against Southwestern. Centenary has now recorded 10+ assists in a game 16 times this season and done so in two-straight games and in six of its last eight. The Gents' 17 assists last Friday at TLU are their third-most in a game this season and marked the fifth time they have had 15 or more in a game.
Centenary is once again a stingy defensive team and ranks 97th nationally in scoring defense, allowing just 69.6 PPG, to rank third in the conference behind Trinity and St. Thomas. The Gents are also 28th nationally in turnover margin (3.9 ratio) and 30th in turnovers forced per game (16.74) and have forced 385 total turnovers. The Gents also rank 55th nationally in 3-point FG % defense (30.4 %) and 65th in overall FG % defense (40.6 %). Centenary has held 13 opponents to 70 points or less this season, eight to 65 points or less. Centenary is also impressive on offense as the Maroon and White have made the most 3-point baskets in the conference (202) and the Gents rank 68th in the country in division III with 8.8 made/game.
Centenary, which will make its 11th-straight appearance in the SCAC Championship next weekend, has now finished .500 or better in all six seasons under head coach Chris Dorsey and has made four trips to the SCAC championship game with two semifinal appearances.
The Gents won the 2020 title en route to an NCAA Tournament appearance. Dorsey has taken the program to new heights in his six-year tenure as he is 99-69 overall with an impressive 65-39 mark in conference play. The Gents are 44-24 in their last 68 regular-season conference games dating back to Jan. 25, 2020.
Scouting Schreiner:
The Mountaineers lead the SCAC and are tied for 46th nationally in scoring offense as they average 82.0 PPG but have struggled defensively as they are last in the conference and 368th in the country allowing 80.9 PPG. During their current four-game losing streak the Mountaineers have allowed an average of 86 PPG.
Player to Watch: Junior C Kamden Ross enters Friday's game as the league's leading scorer (19.0 PPG) and rebounder (13.4 RPG) as he has had a monster season with 20 double-digit scoring performances and 16 in a row dating back to Nov. 19. He is tied for 79th nationally in scoring and has 17 double-digit rebounding efforts and 15 double-doubles. Ross played all 40 minutes in the first meeting between the teams last month and finished with 13 points and a whopping 23 rebounds.
Centenary leads the all-time series with Schreiner 14-10 and the first game between the two occurred in the 2011-12 season. The Gents won the first seven meetings between the two and then the Mountaineers won the next six. The teams have split the last eight meetings, with Centenary holding a 13-10 edge in SCAC contests, regular season or postseason.
Current SCAC Standings and remaining schedules:
1 Trinity 22-1, 13-1 SCAC at St. Thomas, at Centenary
2 St. Thomas 18-5, 10-4 SCAC vs. Trinity, vs. Schreiner
3 Centenary 14-9, 9-5 SCAC vs. Schreiner, vs. Trinity
T4 Colorado College 13-10, 7-7 SCAC vs. Austin College
T4 Schreiner 12-11, 7-7 SCAC at Centenary, at St. Thomas
T6 Austin College 12-12, 7-8 SCAC at Colorado College
T6 Dallas 11-13, 7-8 SCAC at Colorado College
8 Texas Lutheran 5-19, 4-11 SCAC vs. Southwestern
9 Southwestern 2-22, 1-14 SCAC at TLU
Tournament Seeding Notes and Scenarios: Centenary could get as high as the No. 2 seed in next weekend's tournament and can be no lower than the fourth seed as only Schreiner and St. Thomas (and Trinity) could possibly finish ahead of Centenary.
Trinity has clinched the No. 1 seed and both Texas Lutheran and Southwestern are eliminated.
Out of the group of these four teams – Austin College, Colorado College, Dallas, and Schreiner, three will make the tournament and one will not.
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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