Trailing 25-23 at the half, the Centre College men's basketball team out-scored Miami-Middletown 50-23 in the second half to pull away for a 73-48 win Friday, Dec. 28 in the Thomas More Tournament in Crestview Hills, Ky.

The Thunderhawks (12-4) led for most of the first half and built a nine-point lead (18-9) with 9:23 to play in the opening period.

The Colonels slowly chipped away and tied the game at 23-23 with 1:20 on the clock, but C.J. Taylor hit a pair of free throws to give Miami-Middletown a 25-23 lead at the break.

Centre shot only 23.3% (7-30) in the opening half, but quickly caught fire in the second half out-scoring the Thunderhawks 19-3 in the first 4:38 to take a 42-28 lead. 

Miami-Middletown got a lay-up from Max Zukowitz to cut the lead to 12 points, but the Thunderhawks would get no closer the remainder of the way as the Colonels finished the half hitting 22 of 34 shots (64.7%) from the field, including six of 13 (46.2%) from beyond the three-point arc.

Sophomore Josh Karsner (Frankfort, Ky.) scored a game-high 18 points and had seven rebounds to pace Centre. Junior Donovan Whiteside (Knoxville, Tenn.) also finished in double figures with 11 points, five rebounds, five assists and four steals. 

Zukowitz scored 12 points and had four assists to lead Miami-Middletown, while Vernon Montgomery added 10 points off the bench in a losing effort.

The Colonels will next play Saturday, Dec. 29 against Cincinnati Christian College. Start time is set for 3 p.m. in Crestview Hills, Ky.