Leading by three points at the half, the Centre College men's basketball team outscored Southwestern University 36-24 in the second half to win 64-49 Friday, Jan. 20 in Alumni Gymnasium in Danville, Ky.

Tied 4-4 in the early going, the Colonels scored seven straight to lead 11-4 at the 12:18 mark in the first half. That lead grew to nine (24-15) with 5:24 left, but the Pirates closed the half with 10-4 run to cut the lead to 28-25 at the break.

The lead was cut to two (38-36) at the 14:35 mark in the second half, but that was as close as Southwestern would get the rest of the way. 

An 8-1 run gave Centre a 46-37 lead midway through the half, and that lead grew to double digits as the Colonels pulled away for the 15-point conference victory.

Centre committed a season-high 19 turnovers, but made 21 of 27 (77.8%) free throws and limited Southwestern to only 37.0% (20-54) from the floor.

Seniors Jeff Mullaney (Louisville, Ky.) and Greg Ross (Cincinnati, Ohio) led the way for the Colonels. Mullaney scored 19 points on six of 10 shooting, while Ross finished with his fourth double-double of the year with 13 points and 14 rebounds. Freshman Josh Karsner (Frankfort, Ky.) added nine points and nine rebounds, and sophomore Donovan Whiteside (Knoxville, Tenn.) finished with nine points and seven assists off the bench.

Logan Hurley scored 10 points to pace Southwestern. Demetrice Spearman tallied eight points and Michael Cantu recorded six points and six rebounds in the defeat.

With the win, Centre improves to 11-5 overall and 5-3 in the SCAC. The Colonels also remain unbeaten in seven homes games this season. The Pirates fell to 1-15 overall and 1-6 in league action.

Centre will look for its third straight win Saturday, Jan. 21 against Trinity University. Tip-off is set for 8 p.m. in Danville, Ky.