Shreveport- The Centenary men's basketball team raced out to a 19-point halftime lead and cruised to a dominating 86-59 victory on Friday evening over the University of Dallas Crusaders in a Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference game at the Gold Dome.
The Gents (5-4, 1-1 SCAC) improved to 3-1 on their home court this season and got revenge for an 81-76 loss to the Crusaders in Irving on Dec. 8 in the conference opener for both teams. Dallas fell to 3-6 and 1-1 in SCAC play. Centenary is now 14-7 against the Crusaders since each joined the conference beginning with the 2012-13 season. The Gents are now an impressive 39-21 in conference regular-season contests over the last four seasons and 18-4 in their last 22 home games overall.
The 86 points is the second-highest total scored by the Gents this season, just one shy of the 87 they scored in their season-opening win at home over Arlington Baptist on Nov. 9. Centenary shot 49.3 % overall from the floor on Friday which is the second-highest percentage of the season, trailing just the 52 % the Maroon and White shot in a 73-52 win at Mississippi University for Women on Nov. 23. The Gents were deadly from beyond the arc on Friday, connecting on 13-30 (43.3 %) attempts which is second only to the 48 % they produced in that win over MUW last month.
Four Gents scored in double figures, 12 players scored, and 14 players saw action while Dallas had just three players reach double figures and its bench produced just six points compared to a whopping 56 for Centenary. The Gents have now tallied at least 10 assists in eight-straight games, including the Dec. 1 exhibition contest at ULM, as nine players recorded assists on Friday and five players had at least two. Dallas struggled offensively and finished at 32.6 % overall and made just 4-14 three-point attepts for a meager 28.6 %. The Crusaders also missed 13 free throws, commited 28 turnovers, and could not rebound from the large halftime deficit.
Junior F Seth Thomas (Kilgore, Texas) led the Gents with 17 points on 7-13 shooting overall as he turned in his best offensive game of the regular season. He nearly matched his season-high of 19 points scored in a Nov. 11 home exhibition contest versus LSUS. Thomas added six rebounds, four blocks, three steals, and an assist in 20 minutes. Senior F Jarrell Taylor (Leesville, La.) came off the bench and scoreed 14 points and grabbed five rebounds on 6-10 shooting in just 16 minutes of action. He was 2-4 from beyond the arc and had three assists and a steal.
Senior G AJ Hall (Thibodaux, La.) chipped in 13 in 21 minutes as he made 6-13 shot attempts and had one trey with a pair of rebounds. Fellow senior G Kile Mingo (Cypress, Texas) scored a season-high 13 points in 22 minutes on 5-7 shooting and was hot from deep, making 3-5 three-point attempts. Mingo also had three rebounds, two assists, two steals, and a block. Sophomore G Braeden Board (Rayne, La.) started and played 14 minutes as he scoed five points, hit both of his free throw attempts, and made one three-pointer. He added a pair of assists, a rebound, and a steal.
Junior G Drew Young (Lake Charles, La.) scored a season-best six points in 19 minutes, shooting 2-6 overall and was 2-5 from beyond the arc. He grabbed three rebounds and had one blocked shot. Junior F Joseph Wiggins (Bossier City, La.) had a solid performance on Friday with six points and four rebounds on 3-4 shooting in 18 minutes.
Jai Love scored a game-high 21 points to lead the Crusaders. He was 4-12 overall and spent a good part of his evening at the free throw line, making 13-17 attempts. He had four steals and three assists in 30 minutes. Letrell Toussaint scored 13 and grabbed six boards in 19 minutes while Marcus Juarez added 11 points and three rebounds and was 3-4 from beyond the arc in 28 minutes. Jack Boyle came off the bench and had a game-high 17 rebounds, three points, and blocked three shots in 25 minutes of action.
The Gents shot 51.4 % from the floor in the first half and made 7-16 treys en route to a commanding 46-27 lead. Centenary's defense was suffocating as it held the Crusaders to just 27.3 % shooting (6-22) overall and forced 14 turnovers. Dallas made just one three pointer in eight attempts in the half and struggled from the line, missing nine free throws. Centenary remained on target after halftime, making 16-34 attempts overall for 47.1 % and were 6-14 from beyond the arc for 42.9 %.
Centenary will wrap up the home weekend on Sunday as the Gents welcome the Trinity University Tigers to town for a 1 p.m. tip.
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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