Shreveport- The Centenary men's basketball team completed a weekend sweep of Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference opponents with a dominating 72-51 victory on Sunday afternoon over the Texas Lutheran University Bulldogs on Senior Day at the Gold Dome.
The Gents (14-6, 8-4 SCAC) cruised past Southwestern, 71-52, on Friday night and improved to 11-2 at home this season and are 34-8 at the Gold Dome over the last 42 games. The Bulldogs fell to 10-11 overall and 5-7 in SCAC play with the loss. Sunday's win sets a new division III era (2012-present) single-season record for home wins as the previous record was 10. Centenary has now won 14 or more games in a season three times under head coach Chris Dorsey and eight or more conference games in the regular season four times.
Centenary has now held 16 of its 20 opponents to 70 points or less, 60 or less eight times, to 55 or less seven times. The Gents' stingy defense limited the Bulldogs to just 33.9 % (19-56) shooting from the floor and 9-34 from beyond the arc for 26.5 %. The Maroon and White were especially tough on the Bulldogs in the first half, as the visitors finished an ice cold 26.1 % as they made just six baskets in 23 attempts. TLU improved in the second half, shooting 39.4 % (13-33) but could not keep pace. The Gents entered the weekend ranked 49th in the country in division III in scoring defense, allowing just 65.2 PPG.
The Gents, who shot 45.6 % (26-57) for the game, were 12-30 for 40 % in the first half en route to a 32-19 lead at the break and a red-hot 51.9 % (14-27) after halftime. Centenary dominated on the board, grabbing 42 rebounds to TLU's 31. Centenary collected 30 defensive rebounds and 12 offensive rebounds while the Bulldogs finished with 22 defensive rebounds and nine on the offensive end. TLU turned the ball over 17 times to Centenary's 12.
Centenary entered the weekend game ranked sixth in the country in division III in turnovers forced per game (20.8) and 18th in turnover margin (+4.6) and in both Friday and Sunday's games, the Gents stayed true to their reputation after forcing 21 TO's against the Pirates and only giving it away 16 times for a +5 margin and finished with the same margin on Sunday.
Senior G Tykeem Singleton (Fort Worth, Texas) scored a game-high 15 points on Sunday to lead the Gents, senior F Seth Thomas (Kilgore, Texas) was next with 13, and junior G Braeden Board (Rayne, La.) and senior G Jalen Behr (Athens, Ga.) each scored 12. Freshman G Quentin Beverly (Katy, Texas) added nine and senior G Ralph Johnson (White Castle, La.) had eight. senior F Xavier Johnson (Baker, La.) hit a late 3-pointer to the delight of the crowd, his first points since November.
Singleton added a team-high nine rebounds in 34 minutes on 6-11 shooting overall and went 2-2 at the FT line with one trey. He scored in double figures for the ninth time this season and added an assist and a steal. Thomas, honored in a pregame ceremony with Ralph Johnson and Xavier Johnson, once again reached double figures as he did so for the 15th game in a row and for the 19th time this season. He played 32 minutes and was 5-13 from the floor and 3-4 at the FT line with an assist and a steal. He also grabbed his 500th career rebound in the second half, becoming just the 28th player in program history to be a member of the 500-rebound club.
Board was 4-5 from the floor and 4-5 at the FT line in 24 minutes off the bench with three six rebounds, a team-leading three steals, and two assists. He reached double figures for the seventh time this season. Behr nailed 3-4 from beyond the arc in his 19 minutes with seven boards, a blocked shot and a steal. He was 3-4 at the FT line and scored in double figures for the fifth time and hit six treys this weekend.
Beverly played 29 minutes and was 4-9 from the floor and 1-3 at the FT line, and had four rebounds. Ralph Johnson played a season-high 33 minutes and was 3-6 overall and 2-2 at the FT line with four rebounds and a pair of steals. Mason Green was the only Bulldog in double figures with 14 points. He played 32 minutes and was 6-8 from the floor, 1-3 at the FT line and 1-3 from beyond the arc with seven rebounds, three steals, an assist, and a blocked shot. Riley Fornerette, Easton Allen, and Mason Wallace each scored nine and DJ Ardoin added six.
Centenary finished 5-20 from beyond the arc, three from Behr, one from Beverly, and one from Xavier Johnson. Centenary was solid at the FT line, making 15-20 for 75 % and TLU was 4-7 for 57.1 %. The Gents won the battle inside, scoring 32 points in the paint to 20 for the Bulldogs and finished with a 14-8 advantage in second-chance points. Centenary scored 17 points off of turnovers, the Bulldogs scored nine, and the Gents had a slight edge (6-2) in fast break points. Centenary also scored 24 bench points while TLU had 15.
The Gents are on the road next weekend for a pair of SCAC contests - Friday, Feb. 3 at the University of Dallas (7:30 PM) and on Saturday, Feb. 4 at Austin College (6 PM).
*PLEASE CHECK BACK LATER FOR A COMPLETE RECAP OF SUNDAY'S GAME*
See the Gents' complete season schedule here: https://www.gocentenary.com/sports/mbkb/2022-23/schedule
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