SEGUIN, Texas - When a team shoots 48.4 percent from the field, 44.4 percent from three and 94.4 percent from the line, it has a great shot at winning.
The Gents did that, doubling up the Bulldogs in three-point field goals (12-6) as Centenary (9-11, 3-6 Southern Collegiate Conference) shook up the conference standings with an 89-74 win at Texas Lutheran (12-8, 6-3 SCAC) Saturday night, January 28.
With the win, the Gents move into the final spot for the SCAC Tournament in a month with five games left to play. The Bulldogs loss also gives SCAC-leading Schreiner a two-game advantage in the loss column.
Tied at 17 at the 8:46 mark of the first half, Centenary used a 14-2 run to take the lead for good. Junior Travion Kirkendoll made a layup and classmate Trey Barstow nailed a three off of senior James Sapp's only offensive rebound of the game. Zach Behr answered for the Bulldogs with a jumper, but Kirkendoll hit a three to push the lead to six.
Kirkendoll hit 10-of-16 from the field for the game, including 5-for-8 from three, to score 30 points to lead the Gents. Kirkendoll, who had no 30-point scoring games in his Centenary career prior to last weekend, now has accomplished that feat twice against the Bulldogs this season.
While Sapp only managed one offensive board, he added 10 defensive rebounds and 18 points for his 11th double-double of the season.
With Centenary up 25-19, the hot shooting from behind the arc continued as Kirkendoll and Barstow each added a three to push the Centenary lead to double-digits.
Texas Lutheran countered by cutting the deficit to four with nine unanswered right before the half, but junior KJ Boyd and Sapp made threes to push the advantage to 42-32 heading into the second period.
Texas Lutheran cut the lead to as low as three in the second half, but two from the line and a jumper from Kirkendoll pushed the lead back out to seven. Sterling Holmes made a layup, but Barstow hit a three. The Bulldogs cut it to 65-60 with 8:18 left, but Kirkendoll hit another three as the Maroon and White never led by less than seven the rest of the way.
Barstow, in his first collegiate start, hit 3-for-4 from behind the arc and connected on his only shot inside the arc for a career-best of 11 points. Sophomore Treylan Matthews added 11 points, six assists and five rebounds.
The Gents shot 14-for-25 (56 percent) from the field and made all 15 free throws in the second half to hold off Texas Lutheran.
Texas Lutheran made a run in each half to try to get back in the contest. With Centenary leading by 13 with 4:32 left in the first half, Zach Behr made a jumper and Holmes made a fastbreak hoop. Blake Ray made a layup and Jordan Kouremitis hit a trey. However, Boyd stopped the home team's momentum with a three.
Down 12, Texas Lutheran scored nine unanswered in the middle of the second to pull within one possession. Kouremetis made an easy three, while Behr added three more with the hoop and the harm. Behr capped the run with a three from behind the arc, but Centenary countered with a 7-2 run of its own.
Behr led Texas Lutheran with 23, while Holmes chipped-in 17. Kouremetis added 11, but went 3-for-12 from the field to do it.
Centenary opens up its final road trip of the regular season next Friday when it travels to Colorado College. Tip is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. CST (5:30 p.m. in Colorado).
