SHREVEPORT, La. -- Tykeem Singleton became just the fifth player in SCAC history to score at least 30 points in the championship game as the senior poured in a game-high 33 points to lead third-seeded and host Centenary College to an 83-76 win over fourth-seeded Colorado College in the title game of the 2024 SCAC Men's Basketball Championship tournament on Sunday afternoon at the Gold Dome. Official Tournament Website | Photo Gallery | Postgame Interview | Men's Tournament Stats After trading baskets for the first few minutes, Centenary opened up a 13-8 lead at the 15:03-mark off a Jakobi Greenleaf layup. A pair of free throws from Dinari Boykin pulled the Tigers and Gents even, at 20-20 midway through the first half. Colorado College took its first lead of the game (29-28) thanks to an Adrian Price layup with 5:17 to play in the half. Centenary cut the Colorado College lead to 41-40 after Tykeem Singleton's acrobatic 40-foot 3-pointer at the buzzer. Much like the first half, the second half saw both teams trading baskets with neither team pulling away from the other. Seth Thomas converted a traditional three point play to give the Gents a 50-49 lead at the 15:44-mark. After Orion Samikoglu's layup for the Tigers tied the game at 54-54, the Gents went on a quick 8-2 run over a four minute stretch to extend the lead to 62-56 with just 9:35 to play. A Thomas free throw pushed the Centenary lead to 68-57 with 5:15 remaining. The Tigers fought back and cut the Gents lead to 73-69 with 55 seconds left. Colorado College got as close at 76-73 after a Scott Ruegg corner 3-pointer with 20 seconds left before Centenary made its free throws to thwart the comeback bid. The championship is the first for the Gents since 2020 and secures them the SCAC's automatic bid to the 2024 NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Championship. HOW IT HAPPENED Both teams shot the ball well. Centenary connected at a 50.0 percent clip (27-of-54) while Colorado College shot 45.2 percent (28-of-62) from the floor in the game. The Gents shot a blistering 7-of-14 (50.0 percent) from beyond the arc compared to the 37.0 percent clip (10-of-27) for the Tigers.
Centenary forced 18 Colorado College turnovers and converted them into a 16-9 edge in points off of turnovers.
Tykeem Singleton recorded a game-high 33 points. He finished the game 12-of-14 from the floor, including a perfect 5-of-5 from beyond the arc.
Both teams were evenly matched as Centenary held a very slim 38-34 margin in bench points and a 36-34 edge in points in the paint. The two teams each scored 12 points on fast breaks.
The Tigers held won the battle on the glass as Colorado College outrebounded Centenary by a 42-23 mark, including a 15-1 margin on the offensive glass.
CENTENARY COLLEGE STATISTICAL STANDOUTS
Tykeem Singleton: 33 points, 12-of-14 FG, 5-of-5 3FG, 4-of-4 FT, two steals Seth Thomas: 18 points, 9-of-11 FT, three steals, one assist, one block Jakobi Greenleaf: 10 points, three steals, three rebounds, one assist Quentin Beverly: 9 points, three rebounds, 7-of-8 FT, two steals
COLORADO COLLEGE STATISTICAL STANDOUTS
Scott Ruegg: 19 points, four rebounds, 7-of-13 FG, 5-of-10 3FG, three assists, one steal Dinari Boykin: 11 points, three rebounds, one assist, one steal Gavin Carter: 10 points, seven assists, one steal Adrian Price: 9 points, six rebounds, three assists
NOTABLES
Centenary (17-11) earned the program's second SCAC tournament championship and first since 2020. The Gents, appearing in their fifth title game, previously lost championship games in 2014, 2015, and 2018.
Today's game marked the first-ever meeting between Centenary and Colorado College in SCAC tournament play.
Centenary's Tykeem Singleton scored a game-high 33 points to become just the fifth player in SCAC championship game history to score at least 30 points. His 33 points are tied for second most in a SCAC title game with Centenary's Travion Kirkendoll who also scored 33 points in the championship game on February 25, 2018.
Singleton was named the Tournament MVP. Joining Singleton on the All-Tournament Team were teammates Seth Thomas and AJ Hall. The Colorado College trio of Scott Ruegg, Dinari Boykin, and Adrian Price also earned All-Tournament nods.
The Gents improved to 13-10 all-time in program history in the SCAC tournament and 2-3 in the championship game.
The Tigers fell to 5-10 all-time in SCAC postseason play and 0-3 in the championship game. Colorado College ends the season at 16-12.
See the complete Gents' season schedule here: https://www.gocentenary.com/sports/mbkb/2023-24/schedule
Live stats and live video stream are available for all Centenary home contests.
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