Gents Home For Pair Of SCAC Games This Weekend
The Centenary men's basketball team will eagerly return to the court tonight as the Gents are set to face the University of Dallas Crusaders in a Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference contest set for 6 p.m. at the Gold Dome.
Shreveport- The Centenary men's basketball team will eagerly return to the court tonight as the Gents are set to face the University of Dallas Crusaders in a Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference contest set for 6 p.m. at the Gold Dome.
Live stats and live video are available for the game at the links below:
Stats: https://www.gocentenary.com/sports/mbkb/2022-23/boxscores/20221230_lwu7.xml
Video: https://collegetvticket.com/event/centenary-college-vs-university-of-dallas-crusaders/
The Gents (9-3, 3-1 SCAC) are back in action for the first time in nearly two weeks after having their season-high eight-game winning streak snapped at Texas Lutheran, 68-67, in Seguin, Texas on Dec. 17. Dallas enters Friday's contest at 4-6 overall and 0-3 in SCAC play but the Crusaders have won two in a row after recording home victories last week over Hendrix (89-60) and Ripon (62-54).
The loss at TLU was a bitter one for the Gents after they held a commanding 25-point lead with 12:39 remaining and led 37-23 at halftime. Centenary was aiming for its longest unbeaten streak since winning 10 in a row during its 2019-20 conference championship season as the Maroon and White lost for the first time in over a month, since a 63-51 home defeat to Louisiana Christian University on Nov. 16.
The Gents enter Friday's action as one of the most statistically balanced teams in the conference and as they are on an annual basis, one of the conference's and county's top defensive clubs. Centenary is currently the league leader in field goal % defense (40.2), ranked second in scoring defense (64.3 PPG), and fourth in 3-point FG % defense (31.6). The Gents are the league leader in turnover margin (+4.58), force an average of 16.1/game, and are ranked fourth in both blocked shots and steals. They rank 34th in the country in TO margin and 47th nationally in scoring defense. The Gents have only allowed an opponent to score 65 or more points five times this season, and have yielded just 55.5 PPG over the last four games.
On offense, Centenary averages 71.2 PPG, ranks second in free throw % and fourth in 3-point FG % (70.0). The Gents have shot 41 % or better from the floor in five of their last nine games and 40 % or better from beyond the arc in three of their last five. Centenary has also been strong all season from the FT line and especially so lately, shooting 72 % or better six times in its last nine games.
Senior F Seth Thomas (Kilgore, Texas) is the Gents' top scorer, averaging 14.1 PPG and ranks fifth in the conference. He has reached double figures 11 times this season, most on the team, and has done so in seven-straight games. He has posted four double-doubles and is also the team leader in rebounding at 7.8/game which ranks fourth in the league. Thomas ranks fourth in blocked shots, ninth in the conference in FT % (73.8), 11th in steals, and 13th in both assists and FG %.
Junior G Braeden Board (Rayne, La.) is second in the team in scoring at 9.8 PPG and third in rebounding (5.0). Board has reached double figures six times this season and has one double-double. He is the conference's top free throw shooter at 88.2 %, ranks fourth in blocked shots, 14th in steals, 15th in rebounding, and 22nd in scoring. Junior G Jerrick Baines (Alexandria, La.) has scored in double figures four times and posted a season-high 19 in the loss at TLU. He was 4-11 overall from the floor, 4-9 from beyond the arc, and 7-9 from the FT line in 33 minutes against the Bulldogs. He added three rebounds, an assist, and a steal. He is averaging 7.9 PPG this season, 2.9 rebounds/game and shoots 70.0 % from the free throw line.
Senior G Tykeem Singleton (Fort Worth, Texas) averages 8.1 PPG and 5.1 rebounds/game. He is 14th in the SCAC in rebounding and has five double-figure scoring games and a pair of double-doubles. Senior G Kile Mingo (Cypress, Texas) averages 7.1 PPG and now has 169 career 3-point baskets and is just three away from tying Andrew Wisniewski (172) for seventh-place all-time in program history. Mingo is 11th in the conference in 3-point FG made and 12th in 3-point FG %.
Freshman G Quentin Beverly (Katy, Texas) averaged 6.3 PPG and sank a pair of clutch free throws with 11 seconds left in the TLU game to give the Gents a 67-66 lead and finished a perfect 6-6 from the line. Senior F Joseph Wiggins (Bossier City, La.) averages 2.9 PPG and 2.3 rebounds/game and is tied for eighth in the conference in blocked shots. Senior G Jalen Behr (Athens, Ga.) is averaging 5.1 PPG and 2.5 rebounds/game while junior G Chrys Jackson (North Las Vegas, Nev.) is averaging 4.4 PPG and has a pair of double-digit scoring games.
The Gents and Crusaders split a pair of games last season, with Dallas winning 81-76 in Irving and Centenary responding with an 86-59 home victory. Centenary is now 14-7 against Dallas since each joined the conference beginning with the 2012-13 season. The Gents were picked to finish fourth in the SCAC preseason poll while the Crusaders were predicted to finish eighth.
Centenary will finish the calendar year on Saturday with another home game versus Austin College at 3 p.m. The Gents are 6-1 at home this season and are winners of 29 of their last 36 home games overall.
See the Gents' complete season schedule here: https://www.gocentenary.com/sports/mbkb/2022-23/schedule
Admission is FREE to all Centenary home athletic contests. Live stats and live video stream are available for all Centenary home contests.
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