Shreveport - The No. 3 seed Centenary men's basketball team begins its quest for an NCAA Tournament berth on Friday as the Gents face the No. 6 seed Schreiner University Mountaineers in a quarterfinal contest set for 2 p.m. in the 2024 Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference Championship at the Gold Dome.
Live stats and live video are available for the game at the links below:
Stats: https://gocentenary.com/sports/mbkb/2023-24/boxscores/20240223_9bwx.xml
Video: https://www.youtube.com/live/d35ZsNwPxco?si=0owrkyhRMDp10pKw
The Gents (14-11, 9-7 SCAC) and Mountaineers (13-12, 8-8 SCAC) are meeting in a rematch just seven days after Schreiner upset the Gents 84-78 last Friday night in the Gold Dome on Senior Night.
Centenary is serving as host of the event for the first time since 2016 and its last tournament conference title came in 2020 in Kerrville, Texas as the Gents defeated Texas Lutheran to win the crown and advance to the NCAA Tournament. The winner of this year's championship tournament will represent the conference in the NCAA Tournament as the league's automatic qualifier.
No. 1 seed Trinity and No. 2 seed St. Thomas received byes into Saturday's semifinals. No. 4 seed Colorado College faces No. 5 seed Dallas in Friday's tournament opener.
Notables and Storylines:
Centenary is making its 11th-straight appearance in the SCAC Championship
The Gents have finished .500 or better in all six seasons under head coach Chris Dorsey and at 14-11 overall, will do so for a seventh year in a row no matter what happens this weekend.
Centenary has made two trips to the SCAC championship game along with three semifinal appearances in Dorsey's tenure.
Dorsey is one win away from 100 in his Centenary career as he is 99-71 and 65-41 in conference play.
The Gents are 44-26 in their last 70 regular-season conference games dating back to Jan. 25, 2020.
Centenary finished the regular season 8-3 on its home court and despite two losses last weekend to Trinity and Schreiner, has won nine of its last 14 games.
The Gents are 19-5 in their last 24 home games and have won 43 of their last 53 at the Gold Dome.
The Gents were picked to finish fifth in the SCAC preseason poll and finished third and Schreiner, picked to finish fourth, finished sixth.
Centenary is once again a stingy defensive team as the Maroon and White have held 13 opponents to 70 points or less this season, eight to 65 points or less.
Senior F Seth Thomas (Kilgore, Texas) is the Gents' leader this season as he averages 16.3 PPG and 8.2 rebounds per game. He has reached double figures 21 times this season and ranks fifth in the league in scoring, third in rebounding, and second in assists. He has posted five double-doubles and 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.
Gents' Individual Season Statistical Leaders:
Scoring: Thomas – 16.3 PPG
Rebounding: Thomas – 8.2/game
Assists: Thomas – 3.3/game
Blocked Shots: Thomas – 0.6/game each
Steals: Thomas – 2.3/game
Thomas is ranked in the top five in the league in scoring, rebounding, and assist and is 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 44.0 % from the field, 33.0 % from beyond the arc, and 79.2 % from the FT line.
The Gents average 75.2 PPG, shoot 41.9 % from the floor, 32.6 % from beyond the arc, 70.7 % from the FT line, average 34.8 rebounds per game, and 11.7 assists/game. Centenary is tied for 63rd nationally in 3-point baskets made per game (8.8) with 220 made this season.
See the Gents' team and individual season stats here: https://gocentenary.com/sports/mbkb/2023-24/teams/centenaryla
Scouting Schreiner:
The Mountaineers lead the SCAC and are tied for 43rd nationally in scoring offense as they average 82.3 PPG but have struggled defensively as they are last in the conference and 373rd in the country allowing 81.5 PPG.
Player to Watch: Junior C Kamden Ross enters Friday's game as the league's leading scorer (18.8 PPG) and rebounder (13.5 RPG) as he has had a monster season with 22 double-digit scoring performances and 18 in a row dating back to Nov. 19. He is tied for 82nd nationally in scoring and has 19 double-digit rebounding efforts and 17 double-doubles.
Centenary leads the all-time series with Schreiner 14-11 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.
Read the recap of last Friday's matchup here: https://www.gocentenary.com/sports/mbkb/2023-24/releases/20240216z11slm
Official SCAC Championship Page: https://scacsports.prestosports.com/tournament/winter/basketball/24championships/index
See the complete Gents' season schedule here: https://www.gocentenary.com/sports/mbkb/2023-24/schedule
Admission per game for SCAC Championship: Adults: $10
Ages 12 & under, and any Centenary ID: $5
Centenary students, faculty & staff: FREE Admision with a canned good.
Live stats and live video stream are available for all Centenary home contests.
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