Shreveport- The Centenary men's basketball team overpowered the Southwestern University Pirates with a sizzling second half on offense to run away with a 71-52 victory in a crucial Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference contest on Friday night at the Gold Dome.
The Gents (13-6, 7-4 SCAC) improved to 10-2 on their home court this season and swept the season series over the Pirates (7-13, 3-8 SCAC) following a 58-49 in Georgetown, Texas last month. The Maroon and White have won six games in a row over the Pirates and lead the all-time series 16-9.
The Gents shook off a pair of disappointing losses on the road last weekend against Trinity and Schreiner and are now 33-8 in their last 41 home games. Centenary tied the division III era (2012-present) single-season record for home wins, accomplished twice previously and most recently in 2019-20. The Maroon and White aim for the division III era record on Sunday.
Friday's win was head coach Chris Dorsey's 80th with the Gents as he is an impressive 80-57 overall now in his sixth season at the helm. The Gents have won 13 or more games in a season five times in Dorsey's tenure and matched their win total from last season when they went 13-13.
Centenary was its usual tenacious self on defense on Friday, holding the Pirates to just 31.7 % shooting (19-60) from the floor. Southwestern hit just 8-28 attempts from beyond the arc for 28.6 %. The Gents entered the night ranked 49th in the country in division III in scoring defense, allowing just 65.2 PPG. Friday marked the 15th time this season that Centenary has held an opponent under 70 points, the seventh time to 60 or less, and the sixth time to 55 or less. The Gents held Belhaven to 51 points on Dec. 9 at home in a 24-point win.
Senior F Seth Thomas (Kilgore, Texas) led all scorers with 23 points as he continued his spectacular season. He was 9-12 from the floor, a perfect 4-4 from the FT line, and nailed his only 3-point attempt in 32 minutes. He grabbed six rebounds with two assists and two steals, reaching double figures a team-high 18 times and has now done so in a staggering 14-consecutive games. Thomas scored 20+ points for the sixth time his season and for the fifth time in the last seven games. He ranks in the top five in the conference in five categories and in the top 12 in steals, assists, and blocked shots.
Junior G Braeden Board (Rayne, La.) scored 13 points on 3-6 shooting in 28 minutes, and senior G Tykeem Singleton (Fort Worth, Texas) and senior G Jalen Behr (Athens, Ga.) each scored 10. Board was 6-7 at the FT line, nailed one trey, and had five rebounds, four assists, and two blocked shots as he reached double figures for the sixth time this season.
Singleton played 30 minutes and was 4-9 from the floor and 2-5 from beyond the arc with a team-high seven rebounds and added a team-best five steals with a pair of assists. He scored in double figures for the eighth time this season. Behr came off the bench and hit three treys and was 1-2 at the FT line in 27 minutes. He had two rebounds, one assist, and one steal and scored in double figures for the fourth time. Senior G Ralph Johnson (White Castle, La.) continued his solid play of late as he added six points in 16 minutes. He was 2-4 overall and 2-2 at the FT line with a rebound and a steal. Johnson had a big road weekend as he averaged 10.5 PPG including a season-high 14 points against Trinity last Friday.
Junior G Jerrick Baines (Alexandria, La.) scored five points in 20 minutes with three rebounds and a blocked shot. He was 2-6 overall and hit one trey. Freshman G Quentin Beverly (Katy, Texas) added four points in 31 minutes with two rebounds, two assists, and one steal. He was 2-2 from the FT line and 1-2 overall.
Chris Smith Jr. was the only Southwestern player to reach double figures as he scored 10 points in 21 minutes on 3-8 shooting. He was 2-5 from beyond the arc and 2-2 from the FT line with four rebounds, four assists, and a steal. Brock Luechtefeld, who entered the game as the Pirates' leading scorer on the season at 9.4 PPG, was held to eight points on 4-11 shooting in 20 minutes. He did grab a team-best seven rebounds with an assist. Luke Hatcher and Nick Crump matches him with eight points and Preston Hannah had six.
Southwestern finished with a slight advantage (37-34) in rebounding but turned the ball over 21 times and only went to the FT line 10 times all game, making six. The Gents went 15-17 at the line for 88.2 %. Centenary also struggled from 3-point range, going just 8-24 for 33.3 %. The Gents finished 49 % (24-49) from the floor for the night which included a scorching 60.9 % (14-23) in the second half after going 10-26 for 38.5 % in the first half.
The first half was a back and forth battle as the lead changed hands multiple times, was tied several times, and the teams stayed within two to three points or less of each other. A Thomas jumper at the 4:42 mark gave the Gents a 22-17 lead and Baines scored with 2:53 left for a 26-20 Centenary advantage. Singleton hit a shot at the 1:15 mark for a 33-22 lead, marking the first time any team led by double digits. The Pirates made a late basket to make it a 33-24 game at the half.
Centenary opened up a double-digit lead again in the first few minutes of the second half, but the Pirates battled back to within just five (41-36) at the 14:38 mark after a trey by Hannah. The Gents, though, continued their strong offense and buckled down on defense, holding the Pirates to just four points over the next eight minutes, and by the 4:09 mark the Gents were up 21.
Behr nailed a pair of treys in a 30-second span late in the second half, and Board, Singleton, and Thomas all connected in a minute and a half frenzy as the Gents' lead widened to the delight of the crowd as the Pirates had no answers for the barrage.
The Gents finished with 11 assists, 10 steals, and three blocked shots while the Pirates recorded 12 assists, five steals, and two blocks. Centenary finished with a slight edge in points in the paint (24-20) and scored 22 points off of Pirates' turnovers while the visitors managed just 11. Each team scored two fast break points, the Southwestern bench scored 18 points to 16 for Centenary's, and the Pirates finished with a decisive edge in second-chance points (23-9). Centenary entered the game ranked sixth in the country in division III in turnovers forced per game (20.8) and 18th in turnover margin (+4.6) and were right on cue, forcing 21 and only turning it over 16 times for a +5 margin.
Next up for the Gents is a rematch with the Texas Lutheran University Bulldogs on Sunday. Ralph Johnson, senior F Xavier Johnson (Baker, La.), and Seth Thomas will be honored in a pregame Senior Day ceremony which will occur immediately after the Ladies' game which will begin at Noon. The Bulldogs (10-10, 5-6 SCAC) fell 77-70 at #15 St. Thomas in Houston on Friday. Centenary aims for revenge after a bitter 68-67 loss to the Bulldogs in Seguin last month.
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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