SAN ANTONIO - After the Tigers hit a three to begin the second half, the Gents responded with a 24-1 run and never led by less than eight the rest of the way as Centenary (7-7, 1-2 Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference) picked up the 79-71 win at Trinity (6-7, 1-1 SCAC) Saturday night, January 7.
While Centenary had a decisive edge in both shooting (48.2 percent to 33.3 percent) and fastbreak points (15-0), Trinity claimed a 49-35 edge in rebounds and 18-3 in second chance points.
After Matt Jones hit a three to begin the second half for Trinity, the Gents held the home team without a field goal for more than six minutes to take the lead for good. Freshman Jericho Gray started the run with a layup, and after a stop, junior Travion Kirkendoll hit a jumper. Freshman Cedric Harris picked up a steal and went right to the hoop for the fastbreak layup. Harris followed that up with a triple to put Centenary up for good.
Harris finished the game with 13 points on 5-for-9 shooting.
After Kirkendoll picked up a steal, he hit sophomore Treylan Matthews for the fastbreak hoop. Gray added another triple as Centenary turned an eight-point deficit into a seven-point lead in only 2:45.
Jayden Holden tried to stop the run for Trinity when he split from the line, but Harris hit the layup to push the advantage to eight. Kirkendoll took a defensive rebound the whole way for the fastbreak hoop and Sapp added a layup off a timeout. Matthews split from the charity stripe white junior KJ Boyd hit a pair to give Centenary a 53-38 advantage with 13:45 left in the game.
Nik Oakes hit a jumper after Trinity missed its last seven shots in the second half, but Boyd answered for the Gents with his only triple of the game.
Boyd led Centenary with a career-best 20 points on 6-for-10 shooting and 7-for-8 mark from the line. Harris added 13, seven of which came in the flurry of scoring for the Gents to open up the second half.
While the Maroon and White faced an early deficit last night, they scored the first eight and led 11-2 just five minutes into the contest. Centenary hit its first three shots of the game with jumpers from Kirkendoll and Boyd around a layup by Harris. Boyd added a pair from the charity stripe for the Gents 8-0 lead.
Meanwhile, Trinity missed its first eight shots of the game before Danny Rivara hit a jumper. Junior Dyllon Weaver missed a three on the other end, but Sapp cleaned up the glass and kicked the ball out to junior Trey Barstow for three and the only second-chance points for the Gents in the game.
Centenary led 20-15 later in the first before Trinity took its first lead with a 13-2 run. Oakes hit a three and Knopp made a putback off an offense rebound to tie the game. The exact same sequence unfolded with an Oakes three and Knopp cleaned up the offensive glass to quickly put the home team up five.
Taylor Kim capped the run with an old-fashioned three and Trinity led 28-22 with 3:30 left until half.
Holden paced Trinity with 15 points and 12 boards, while Rivara chipped in 10 points and 14 rebounds.
The Gents begin a four-game, SCAC homestand next Friday, January 13, against Colorado College. Tip is scheduled for 5:30 p.m. As with all home regular season sporting events for Centenary athletics, admission is free.
