IRVING, Texas – Entering the day, the Gents never have eclipsed the half-century mark in a half in Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference action. Thanks to a 20-for-32 (62.5 percent) shooting mark, including 8-for-12 (66.7 percent) from behind the arc, that hurdle has been cleared.
The Maroon and White scored 51 points in the first half as Centenary (10-6, 3-3 SCAC) bested Dallas (6-8, 1-4 SCAC) 87-78 Saturday, January 16, at the Maher Center in Irving, Texas.
Down 3-2 a minute into the game, the only Centenary deficit the entire night, senior Justin Cueto knocked down a triple. Up 7-6, junior James Sapp hit a jumper and Cueto knocked down another three. Later at 12-8, the Maroon and White pushed the lead to 10 as freshman Treylan Matthews and junior Kendall Demouchet inserted themselves in the three point barrage to push the lead to double-digits for all but the final 17 seconds of the game.
Centenary led 24-14 at the 11:24 mark before James made a layup on an offensive rebound and Kirkendoll drained threes on successive possessions.
Leading 40-24 with 4:28 before half, Centenary scored 11 unanswered for its largest lead of the night. Matthews made a layup and then a trey off of a Demouchet rebound. Senior DJ Hicks grabbed a steal and took it to the hoop for the fastbreak layup. Hicks then made a jumper and Sapp added the fastbreak hoop as the Gents led 51-24 with a minute until half.
Matthews, Kirkendoll and Demouchet all made both threes shot in the first half. Sapp finished with 12 rebounds and 10 points in the first half to move into sole possession of the SCAC lead with nine double-doubles. He finished the game with 12 points and 16 boards and has four-straight double-doubles.
All five starters finished the game in double-figures, led by Kirkendoll's 18. Demouchet added 17 points and four blocks, Matthews scored 13 and had six dimes and Cueto added 11 on a 3-for-5 mark from beyond the arc.
Dallas trailed 81-64 with four minutes left in the game, but a 12-4 run cut the lead to single digits. Lorenzo Gonzalez made a pair from the charity stripe and TJ Cooks made a fast break layup. Gonzalez added another jumper, and all of a sudden the lead was cut to 11 with 1:43 left. However, both teams traded empty possessions and Demouchet made a jumper on the right baseline with the shot clock about to expire. Matthews then made a quick steal and took it to the hoop for the fastbreak layup to put Centenary up 15 with 44 seconds left.
TJ Cooks answered with a three the old-fashioned and conventional way, and the Gents lead was cut to single digits with 17 seconds left. The Maroon and White missed a free throw and layup, but Demouchet blocked a three and Sapp grabbed a steal to end the game.
Gonzalez led Dallas with 18 points on 7-for-10 shooting while Cooks added 15 off the bench. Tom Kaiser added a double-double with 10 points and 11 boards.
Centenary continues its road swing next weekend with a pair of games deep in the heart of Texas. The Gents take on Southwestern for a 6 p.m. tip Friday, January 22.