DANVILLE, Ky. (Jan. 4, 2016) – A career-high 23 points by freshman Cody Jones led the Sewanee men's basketball team to its first win at Centre since the 1998-99 season, Sunday. The Tigers earned a 58-54 victory over their Southern Athletic Association (SAA) rival inside Alumni Gymnasium.
Sewanee is now 7-4 overall and 1-0 in SAA play. Centre dropped to 8-4 overall and 0-1 in league play.
Jones finished the game 8-of-14 overall and 7-for-10 at the three-point line. The first-year Tiger also grabbed seven rebounds and had one assist.
Along with Jones, seniors Seth Brown and Keshonn Carter both had 10 points to go along with seven and six rebounds, respectively. Additionally, with his six boards, Carter became just the 17th Tiger to grab at least 500 career rebounds.
Sewanee played well in the first 20 minutes. With the score 10-9, a layup by Brown opened a quick 9-0 for the purple and gold. After Matt Gump pulled Centre to within eight, 19-11, back-to-back layups by Brody Stone and Jones extended the Tiger lead to 12, 23-11.
Centre answered back with a small rally of its own over the next three minutes. However, behind making 41.4 percent of their first-half shots, the Tigers closed the half on a 5-0 run.
Ahead 28-20 entering the second half, Sewanee went back ahead by double digits after another Brown layup. Centre then went inside with two straight jumpers by Blake Scinta and Tyler Wesley.
That is when Jones took over. The freshman from Holly Pond, Ala., native scored 12 straight points on four straight threes which pushed the Tigers ahead to 13, 42-29, with 10:56 to play.
A jumper by Clay Born and layup by Carter then extended the Sewanee lead to 17 two minutes later.
Just when it looked like Sewanee would run away with the victory, Centre kept fighting back. After a pair of Gump free throws the Colonels eventually pulled to within three with 40 seconds left.
However, Sewanee closed the game with three free throws from Carter and one from Born with nine seconds left.
Overall, Sewanee was led by its defense. The Tigers limited Centre to a 33.3 shooting percentage and forced 12 turnovers. Centre also struggled outside the three-point arc by making only 22.2 percent of its attempts.
Individually, Gump led Centre in scoring with 14 points.
Sewanee will look to remain atop of the SAA standings when the Tigers host Hendrix Friday night inside Juhan Gymnasium. Tipoff is scheduled for 8:00 p.m.
For more information on Sewanee Athletics, please visit www.SewaneeTigers.com. You can also check the Tigers out on Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and Flickr.