Jackson, Miss. - The Centenary men's basketball team recorded a dominating 73-50 victory over the host Millsaps College Majors on Sunday in the consolation game of the Millsaps College Tournament at the Hangar Dome.
The Gents improved to 2-2 and snapped a three-game losing streak with the decisive win as they allowed a season-low number of points. Millsaps (2-5) went winless over the weekend after losing in overtime to Huntingdon, 68-67, on Saturday night. Centenary went 1-1 after a 75-60 loss to ETBU on Saturday in the opening game of the tournament.
Centenary led 34-24 at halftime and then outscored the Majors 39-26 in the second half in its most impressive performance of the young season. Two Gents scored in double figures, eight different players scored, and 14 players saw action on Sunday.
Senior F Jarrell Taylor (Leesville, La.) led the Gents with a stellar performance of 24 points and 13 rebounds in 35 minutes. He went 4-7 from three-point range, made both of his free throw attempts, and had two steals and a block. Taylor has reached double figures in three of the Gents' four regular-season games this season and his points and rebounds were both season highs on Sunday.
Junior G Ralph Johnson (White Castle, La.) was also outstanding on Sunday as he scored a season-high 18 points in 27 minutes and added three assists and two rebounds. He nailed all four of his three-point attempts and also went 4-4 from the free throw line. Johnson now has 23 double-digit scoring performances in his career. Junior F Joseph Wiggins (Bossier City, La.) scored nine points in 17 minutes with six rebounds, two assists, two blocks, and a steal. He was also 5-6 from the free throw line.
Junior F Seth Thomas (Kilgore, Texas) also had an impressive day as he scored nine points in 19 minutes with four rebounds, three assists, a pair of steals, and a blocked shot. Senior G AJ Hall (Thibodaux, La.) scored six points in 18 minutes of action off the bench with five boards and an assist. Junior G Jalen Behr (Athens, Ga.) chipped in three points and two rebounds in 23 minutes. He also had three steals and two assists.
Senior G Tevin Baker (Port Arthur, Texas) had a team-best and game-high eight assists in 27 minutes and added two points, three rebounds, a steal, and made both of his free throw attempts. Sophomore G/F Dylan Hooter (Mandeville, La.) played a season-high 14 minutes and had three rebounds and two points.
The Gents shot 36.4 % (24-66) from the floor for the game, made 11 treys, and were an impressive 14-17 from the free throw line. Centenary outrebounded the Majors, 43-33, forced 17 turnovers, and had 20 assists on 24 made baskets. The Gents finished with 10 steals, six blocked shots, and only turned the ball over 12 times.
Millsaps had two players finish in double figures, led by 16 from Christian Evans in 23 minutes off the bench. He made 6-10 shot attempts overall, grabbed five rebounds, and hit a pair of three pointers. Cameron Williams had a big game for the Majors as he posted a double-double with 14 points and 13 rebounds. He shot 5-13 from the field and made three treys in his 27 minutes of action. Millsaps shot 30.5 % from the floor for the game and struggled from long range, hitting just seven of its 27 attempts (25.9 %) and also hurt itself from the free throw line, missing five of 12 attempts.
Centenary scored 19 points off the Majors' 17 turnovers and held the edge in second-chance points (12-7) and fast break points (10-6). Millsaps finished with a slight advantage in points in the paint (18-16) and both teams benefited from solid contributions from its reserves, as Millsaps got 26 points from its bench and Centenary received 25.
Centenary will finish up the road trip at Mississippi University for Women on Tuesday, Nov. 23 in Columbus, Miss. at 2 p.m. The Gents' next home game is Tuesday, Nov. 30 versus Millsaps at 6 p.m.
A link to the Gents' complete 2021-22 schedule can be found here: https://www.gocentenary.com/sports/mbkb/2021-22/schedule
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