Shreveport - The Centenary men's basketball team continued its home dominance on Friday evening as the Gents recorded an impressive 83-60 victory over the Texas Lutheran Bulldogs in a Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference contest at the Gold Dome.
The Gents (8-6, 3-2 SCAC) remained unbeaten (5-0) at home this season and are 16-2 in their last 18 games and 40-8 in their last 48. Texas Lutheran fell to 3-12 and 3-4 in SCAC play with Friday's loss.
Centenary took a 41-34 halftime lead after shooting 42.4 % (14-33) from the floor and then outscored TLU 42-26 in the second half to cruise to the win. The Gents were 15-33 from the floor in the second half for 45.5 % as they shot 43.9 % (29-66) overall. Centenary was 8-30 from beyond the arc for 26.7 % and 17-25 at the free throw line for 68.0 %.
The Bulldogs shot just 29.7 % (19-64) on the night, 29.0 % (9-31) from beyond the arc, and 61.9 % (13-21) from the free throw line. TLU shot 34.5 % from the floor in the first half and dipped to just 25.7 % in the second.
Junior G Craig Collier (North Little Rock, Ark.) scored a season-high 26 points as he reached double figures for the fifth time this season and third time in four games. The 26 points are the sixth-highest point total by a SCAC player in a game this season. He played 27 minutes and was 10-16 from the floor and a red-hot 6-10 from beyond the arc with an assist and a rebound.
Junior F Jakobi Greenleaf (Houston, Texas) scored 15 points and grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds as he reached double figures for the seventh time this season and recorded his second double-double. Freshman F Khristian Wilkerson (Killeen, Texas) came off the bench and scored a season-high 12 points in 18 impressive minutes. He was 4-7 from the floor, 2-5 from beyond the arc, and 2-3 from the FT line with two rebounds and a steal. Wilkerson now has three double-digit scoring performances this season.
Senior F Seth Thomas (Kilgore, Texas) just missed a double-double as he scored nine points and grabbed 11 rebounds in 27 minutes. Thomas failed to reach double figures for the first time in 14 games as he opened the season with 13-straight double-digit contests. Thomas had scored in double figures in 15-straight games dating back to last season. He was 3-9 from the floor and 3-6 at the FT line with a game-high five assists, two blocked shots, and a steal. Senior G Tykeem Singleton (Fort Worth, Texas) scored seven points in 16 minutes off the bench with five rebounds, two assists, and a steal on 3-6 shooting. Senior G AJ Hall (Thibodaux, La.) added four points in 11 minutes, and five Gents - senior G Jalen Behr (Athens, Ga.), sophomore G Quentin Beverly (Katy, Texas) scored four, senior G Braeden Board (Rayne, La.), freshman G Gerald Murage (Irving, Texas), and junior G Kyron Powell (Fort Worth, Texas) each scored two points.
LaDarius King led the Bulldogs with 18 points, Xavier Phillips had 15 off the bench, and Semaj Edwards scored 10. King grabbed a team-high nine rebounds in his 30 minutes and was 6-17 from the floor, 4-10 from beyond the arc, and 2-2 at the FT line with an assist. Teddy Tapken scored seven points and grabbed seven boards in 19 minutes as he was 2-5 overall, 1-1 from 3-point range, and 2-2 at the FT line with an assist. Easton Allen scored four and grabbed four rebounds and four other Bulldogs scored a combined six points.
The Gents dominated inside, winning the battle of points in the paint, 38-16, and scored 15 second-chance points. The Bulldogs scored 14 second-chance points and each team collected 45 rebounds. Centenary had 30 fast break points and scored 17 points off of 15 TLU turnovers. The Gents turned the ball over just eight times which the Bulldogs, who scored nine fast break points, converted to nine points. Centenary's bench outscored TLU's 29-21. The Gents finished with 12 assists, nine steals, and four blocked shots while the Bulldogs had nine assists, four steals, and one block.
Collier hit a 3-pointer just 12 seconds into the contest to start the scoring and by halftime he led the Gents with 13 first-half points. King and Phillips combined for 25 of the Bulldogs' 34 first-half points to keep them within striking distance. The Gents raced out to an early 9-2 lead four minutes in but the Bulldogs outscored them 18-5 over the next six and a half minutes as a Phillips trey gave the Bulldogs a 20-14 lead at the 10:37 mark.
TLU led 24-16 at the 7:52 mark but a pair of free throws by Greenleaf tied the game at 32-32 with 3:02 left to cap a 16-8 Gents' run. Centenary then closed the half on a 9-2 run to take the seven-point halftime lead. The Bulldogs cut into the Gents' lead over the first seven minutes of the half, getting as close as three points, but a Collier jumper pushed the Gents' lead to 10 at 55-45 with 13:22 remaining and a devastating 19-3 run by Centenary capped off with a 3-pointer by Collier at the 7:41 mark put the game out of reach at 74-48.
Centenary completes the weekend homestand with a matinee on Sunday against Southwestern University (1-14, 0-6 SCAC) at Noon.
See the complete Gents' season schedule here: https://www.gocentenary.com/sports/mbkb/2023-24/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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