COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - The old saying in basketball is that the best time to shoot a three pointer is off an offensive rebound. The Maroon and White proved that true Sunday afternoon, January 14.
With 18 seconds remaining and the score tied at 53, junior Treylan Matthews grabbed an offensive board and fed senior Travion Kirkendoll on the wing for the go-ahead triple as Centenary (9-6, 3-2 Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference) knocked off preseason favorite Colorado College (7-9, 2-3 SCAC) 58-55.
With most stats even, including both teams grabbing 36 rebounds, Centenary took advantage of a 14-5 edge in offensive boards and a 15-4 advantage in second chance points. Kirkendoll finished the game with 20 points, five assists (against just one turnover) and four steals. Matthews came off the bench for 13 points.
After Colorado College made a pair of free throws to cut the lead to one with eight seconds left, sophomore Cedric Harris headed to the line for a 1-and-1. He missed the front end, but Colorado College fumbled the ball out of bounds despite no Gents in the vicinity. Senior Dyllon Weaver was fouled with two seconds left and hit both from the charity stripe to add two more second chance points to the total for the final margin of the game.
Harris finished with 10 points for the night, while Weaver added a pair of threes and two free throws for eight points.
Centenary needed all 14 offensive rebounds as it shot a season low 31.8 percent (21-for-66). However, the Gents made 5-of-6 (83.3 percent) from the line.
Centenary trailed 12-7 early, but a 12-0 run in a two-minute span gave Centenary a seven-point, first half lead. With 8:32 left, Matthews went off for a quick eight points on three-straight possessions. After a three, he tied the game with a layup. Another Matthews three put the Gents in the lead. Junior Mitchell Tarantolo added a jumper and two Kirkendoll free throws gave Centenary a 19-12 lead with 6:06 left.
The Gents led by as much as nine in the second half, 49-40. Up three, Weaver hit the traditional three before the hoop, harm, and free throw by Tarantolo with 8:09 left.
Colorado College trailed 21-13 with three minutes until the break before an 11-3 run knotted the score. Eric Houska made a layup and Sean Stem hit a three to quickly bring the game back to one possession. Harris upped the lead with a triple, but back-to-back threes by Ryan Young and Edmund Pendleton tied the game heading to intermission.
Houska led the Tigers with 15 points, while Young added 13. CooXooEii Black added the double-double with 10 points and 14 boards.
In the second half, Pendleton hit the three that tied the game at 53 with 1:23 left. However, the Gents burned more than a minute off the clock in its next offensive possession thanks to two offensive rebounds - the final of which led to Kirkendoll's three that put the Gents up for good in the contest.
Centenary returns to action Friday at SCAC leader Trinity. Tip-off in San Antonio is set for 5:30 p.m.
