Competing for the first time in 17 days, the Centre men's basketball team picked up where it left off in pulling away for a 71-55 win over Huntingdon on Friday in the Oglethorpe Classic in Atlanta, Ga.

Blake Scinta (Louisville, Ky.) led all players with 19 points and nine rebounds in the game while Josh Karsner (Frankfort, Ky.) chipped in 18 points and eight boards for the Colonels. Dantavius Washington led Huntingdon with 11 points. 

Centre trailed just briefly in the opening moments when Huntingdon pulled out to an early 8-4 lead, but the Colonels responded with eight straight points on a Tyler Wesley (Crestwood, Ky.) layup and 3-pointers by Andrew Steggeman (New Albany, Ind.) and Mike Geegan (Bowling Green, Ky.). 

Centre led the rest of the way, pushing the lead out to 24-16 on a 7-0 run and taking a 40-34 lead to halftime. The Colonels went on to extend the lead in the second half with a 10-0 run in which Karsner scored five straight points, then pushed the lead out to as many as 20 points at 61-41 after a pair of Matt Gump (Bellefontaine, Ohio) free throws at the 10:38 mark.

Centre held on the rest of the way, not allowing Huntingdon to get any closer than 14 points. 

The Colonels gained their advantage by shooting 46.6 percent (27-of-58) from the field to Huntingdon's 36.5 percent (19-of-52) while shooting 37.5 percent (12-of-32) from 3-point range and holding the Hawks to 23.1 percent (3-of-13) from outside. Centre also held a 37-31 rebounding advantage.

Centre stays perfect on the season at 7-0 while Huntingdon drops to 1-6. The Colonels take the court again in Atlanta on Saturday when they take on MacMurray at 3 p.m.