February 26, 2022

Gents Fall To St. Thomas In SCAC Tournament Semifinals 75-56 On Saturday

Top-seeded University of St. Thomas went on a 19-4 run midway through the first half, blowing open a close game to take a commanding 41-19 halftime lead and never looked back in defeating fifth-seeded Centenary College, 75-56, Saturday afternoon at the 2022 SCAC Men's Basketball Tournament at Austin College.

Centenary (La.)

13-13

St. Thomas (Tex.)

21-5

Final

Centenary (La.) 13-13

St. Thomas (Tex.) 21-5

*Release Courtesy of the SCAC*

SHERMAN, Texas - Top-seeded University of St. Thomas went on a 19-4 run midway through the first half, blowing open a close game to take a commanding 41-19 halftime lead and never looked back in defeating fifth-seeded Centenary College, 75-56, Saturday afternoon at the 2022 SCAC Men's Basketball Tournament at Austin College. Official Tournament Website | Photo Gallery

The victory advances the Celts (21-5) to Sunday's SCAC men's title game where they will take on the winner of Trinity and Schreiner with tip scheduled for Noon CT.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Holding a narrow 13-10 lead with 12:52 remaining in the first half, St. Thomas closed out the period on a 28-9 run to take a 41-19 lead into the lockerroom.
Freddie Ricks III came off the bench and had 12 of his team-high 17 points in the opening half to fuel the run.
St. Thomas shot 50.0 percent (17-34) in the decisive first half, and held Centenary to 27.3 percent (6-22).
The Celts never trailed in the contest and led by as many as 25 with 3:12 remaining in the game.
St. Thomas had 19 second-chance points compared to zero for Centenary. The Celts also held commanding advantages in points in the paint (38-14) and bench points (41-9).

ST. THOMAS STATISTICAL STANDOUTS

Freddie Ricks III: 17 points, two rebounds, two assists
Juan Hood: 13 points, four rebounds, three assists, three steals
Adam Kanafani: eight points, 14 rebounds
Joshua Sanchez: eight points, six rebounds, three steals

CENTENARY STATISTICAL STANDOUTS

Tevin Baker: 22 points, five assists, five steals
Ralph Johnson: 11 points, four rebounds
Seth Thomas: nine points, five rebounds, five steals, two blocks

NOTABLE

St. Thomas has won 10 straight games and has not lost since a 64-55 loss at Trinity on Jan. 21.
This marked the second consecutive year that St. Thomas and Centenary have met in the semifinal round. Last year, St. Thomas earned the 67-58 victory en route to its first SCAC tournament title.
St. Thomas' Freddie Ricks enjoys playing at Hughey Gymnasium as he is a lifetime 62.9 percent shooter (22-35), including 47.6 percent (10-21) from three-point range, in three lifetime games at the Austin College facility.
The 19-point win was the largest margin in a men's semifinal game since Centre defeated Birmingham-Southern 77-58 at the 2012 championship.
Centenary slips to 4-3 all-time in SCAC semifinal games, while St. Thomas is a perfect 2-0 in semifinal games and 4-0 all-time at the conference tournament in its short SCAC history.
Centenary ends its season at 13-13.

UP NEXT
St. Thomas (21-5) advances to Sunday's SCAC men's title game where they will take on the winner of Trinity and Schreiner with tip scheduled for Noon CT. The defending SCAC tournament champions, the Celts defeated Trinity 80-66 in last year's championship game.