SHREVEPORT, La. - The Gents led for almost 39 minutes, but three missed free throws in the final 45 seconds and a layup by the Mountaineers with 10 ticks left proved to be the difference as Centenary (11-8, 5-4 Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference) fell to Schreiner (10-9, 7-1 SCAC) 65-64 Sunday afternoon, January 28.
Tied at 54 with seven minutes left, junior Kaharri Carter hit a pair of free throws and freshman Raylon Hardy just beat the shot clock horn for a jumper. Later with Centenary up 62-58, Schreiner's Andrew Logan hit a three and a Keenan Gumbs' layup gave the visitors its first lead of the game with 2:54 left. Sophomore Cedric Harris added a layup 26 seconds later, and both teams failed to score for the next two minutes of game time.
With 45 seconds left, Hardy missed two free throws for Centenary. Schreiner missed a layup and then was forced to foul twice to send the Maroon and White to the line. Carter missed the front end of a 1-and-1, and Blake Kelley slipped to the rim for the game-winning layup for Schreiner.
Centenary led 18-15 in the first half before an 11-2 run gave the home team its largest lead of the contest. Carter made a layup, senior Travion Kirkendoll hit a jumper, and senior Dylan Weaver hit a fastbreak three to open up a double-digit lead. Schreiner answered with a pair from the line, but Hardy made a jumper and Kirkendoll threw down a dunk off a steal.
Kirkendoll led all scorers with 21 points while Carter added 14.
Centenary led 44-40 in the second half when Kirkendoll made a pair of free throws and junior Treylan Matthews drained a fastbreak three to push the lead back to nine.
Schreiner only had a 34-29 edge on the boards, but an 11-6 advantage in offensive rebounds and a 14-5 lead in second-chance points proved to be the difference for the Mountaineers. Kelley had the double-double with 16 points and 10 boards while Logan came off the bench for 14.
Centenary closes out home play for the season next weekend, beginning with Dallas Friday, February 2, at 5:30 p.m.
