Shreveport - The Centenary men's basketball team recorded a thrilling 69-65 victory over the Trinity University Tigers on Friday night in the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference opener for both teams at a raucous Gold Dome.
The Gents (5-2, 1-0 SCAC) won their fourth-straight game and continued their impressive play at home, improving to 27-7 at home over the last three seasons. Trinity, the preseason conference favorite, fell to 5-3 overall and 0-1 in conference play. The Tigers, who began the season ranked 18th by D3hoops.com, fell out of the top 25 this week after a loss at Sul Ross State University on Nov. 23. Centenary, picked to finish fourth in the league this season, defeated the Tigers at home for the second-straight season after picking up an 87-78 win last December.
The Gents came out red-hot on offense, shooting 43.8 % (14-32) from the floor in the first half and connected on 9-21 attempts from beyond the arc for 42.9 % to lead by 10 (39-29) at the half. Junior G Jerrick Baines (Alexandria, La.) drained a trey 20 seconds into the game which fueled a 17-2 start to the game for the Maroon and White capped by a 3-pointer from junior G Braeden Board (Rayne, La.) at the 14:35 mark.
The Tigers chipped into the Gents' lead, cutting it to seven on a layup by Braxton Barry to make it 21-14 with 9:05 remaining, but a 3-pointer by senior G Tykeem Singleton (Fort Worth, Texas) 14 seconds later put the Gents back up 10 at 24-14. Centenary then hit 3-point baskets on three-consecutive possessions to the delight of the crowd, as senior G Jalen Behr (Athens, Ga.) hit a pair and Board hit the final one to make it 33-17 with 6:32 left in the half. Trinity managed to cut into its large deficit with a 12-6 run over the final minutes of the half to make it 39-29 at halftime.
Trinity opened the second half on an 8-2 run to cut their deficit to 41-37 but a pair of free throws by senior F Seth Thomas (Kilgore, Texas) gave the Gents a double-digit lead at 49-39 lead at the 12:38 mark. The next three minutes, though, belonged to the Tigers as they went on a 12-4 run as a layup by AJ Clark with 9:20 remaining made it a 53-51 game. Centenary answered with a 6-0 run for a 59-53 lead.
The Gents wrap up the weekend versus Schreiner University (6-1) on Sunday, Dec. 4 at 3 p.m.
*PLEASE CHECK BACK LATER FOR A COMPLETE RECAP OF FRIDAY'S GAME*
See the Gents' complete season schedule here: https://www.gocentenary.com/sports/mbkb/2022-23/schedule
Admission is FREE to all Centenary home athletic contests. Live stats and live video stream are available for all Centenary home contests.
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