Shreveport - The Centenary men's basketball team crushed the University of Dallas Crusaders on Saturday afternoon as the Gents cruised to a 97-64 win in Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference play at the Gold Dome.
The Gents (10-9, 5-5 SCAC) scored a season high in points and swept the season series over the Crusaders (7-11, 4-6 SCAC) following a 91-87 win in Irving, Texas last month. Centenary topped 90 points for the third time this season and did so for the second time against the Crusaders this season. The Gents responded mightily from a disappointing 70-59 loss on Friday night to Austin College, their first home loss of the season.
Sophomore G Quentin Beverly (Katy, Texas) scored a career-high 30 points to lead all scorers as he played 37 minutes and was 10-16 from the floor, 7-13 from beyond the arc, and 3-3 at the free throw line with three assists, two steals and a rebound. He reached double figures for the fifth time this season and becomes just the sixth player in the SCAC this season to score 30+ points in a game. His seven made treys are also the third-most in a game by a conference player this season.
The Gents were outstanding offensively, finishing an even 50.0 % (34-68) from the floor for the game after shooting a sizzling 54.3 % (19-35) in the first half. Centenary finished an impressive 41.0 % (16-39) from beyond the arc and 13-14 at the free throw line for 92.9 %. The Gents were 9-21 from 3-point range in the first half but did not attempt a free throw in the first 20 minutes, making all but one of their 14 attempts in the second half. Centenary led 47-32 at halftime and kept its foot on the pedal in the second half, outscoring Dallas 50-32.
The Gents' 16 treys are a season high and marks the sixth time this season they have hit 10 or more in a game. Centenary also shot 50 % or better from the floor for the third time this season and nearly matched its season-high 54.5 % that it finished with in the season-opening win over Texas College on Nov. 8. The Gents' 92.9 % from the FT line was also a season best and their one miss from the line marked their fewest since missing just two (10-12) in a 66-63 loss at Belhaven on Nov. 27.
Dallas finished a cold 27.9 % (19-68) from the floor for the game and went 11-38 from beyond the arc for 28.9 % and finished 15-21 at the FT line for 71.4 %. The Crusaders were 11-29 from the floor in the first half for 37.9 % but dipped to just 20.5 % in the second half, making only eight shots in 39 attempts. The Gents outrebounded the Crusaders 46-42 and forced 17 turnovers, which they turned into 28 points. Centenary turned it over 13 times but Dallas was only able to score three points from those miscues.
Centenary won the battle inside, finishing with 26 points in the paint to Dallas' 16. The Gents finished with an impressive 28 fast break points while the Crusaders had just five, Centenary edged Dallas 17-15 in second-chance points, and Dallas' bench contributed 29 points while Centenary finished with 18. The Gents finished with 16 assists, 10 steals, and three blocked shots while the Crusaders tallied eight assists, six steals, and blocked one shot. Centenary has recorded 10+ assists four games in a row and have recorded 10+ steals three times this season.
Junior G Craig Collier (North Little Rock, Ark.) added 20 points for the Gents as he reached double figures for the eighth time and score 20+ points for the second time. He was 7-16 from the floor in 33 minutes and 6-13 from beyond the arc with six assists, four rebounds, and two steals. Junior F Jakobi Greenleaf (Houston, Texas) was the third Gent to reach double figures as he scored 16 in 30 minutes on 7-10 shooting and was 2-2 at the FT line. He grabbed a game-high nine rebounds as he reached double figures for the ninth time.
Senior F Seth Thomas (Kilgore, Texas) was held to just seven points in his 32 minutes. He was 1-4 from the floor but a perfect 5-5 from the FT line with seven rebounds, five assists, a game-high three steals, and a blocked shot. Thomas has scored in double figures 17 times this season as he entered the weekend as the conference's second-leading scorer. Four Gents - Senior G AJ Hall (Thibodaux, La.), freshman G Gerald Murage (Irving, Texas), senior G Tykeem Singleton (Fort Worth, Texas), and senior G Jalen Behr (Athens, Ga.) each scored six points.
Hall was 3-4 from the floor in nine minutes off the bench with three rebounds and two steals, Murage was 2-5 from the floor, 1-2 from beyond the arc, and 1-1 at the FT line in seven minutes, Singleton played 12 minutes and was 2-3 from the floor, 1-2 from beyond the arc, and 1-2 at the FT line with five boards. Behr played 29 minutes and was 2-8 from the floor, 1-6 from beyond the arc, and 1-1 at the FT line with eight rebounds, two assists, a steal, and a blocked shot.
Dallas had just one player score in double figures – Jamal Leftwich with 15 points. Jack Boyle scored nine, Thomas Fleming and Terrence Bryant each had six, Johny Olmsted scored five, Kelton Coleman had four, and eight other Crusaders combined to score 19 points. Four Gents were held scoreless - senior G Coby Harris (Lafayette, La.), freshman F Khristian Wilkerson (Killeen, Texas), senior G Chrys Jackson (North Las Vegas, Nev.), and junior C Ruben Cazares (Tucson, Ariz.), but those four combined to contribute rebounds and a blocked shot.
Beverly started the scoring with a quick trey just 48 seconds into the game and roughly two minutes later he nailed another as it would be a sign of things to come the rest of the afternoon. Behr hit a trey and Collier hit a pair in the first eight+ minutes as the Gents raced out to a 21-12 lead at the 12:33 mark. A 3-pointer by Beverly made it a 42-25 game with 2:36 remaining as Collier and Beverly combined to hit 8-14 from beyond the arc and 12-19 from the floor overall in the first half. The duo hit five more combined treys in the second half in helping the Gents set their season record in the category.
The Gents took their biggest lead of the game at 18 points on a trey by Beverly to make it 64-46 with 11:01 remaining. A trey by Collier then extended Centenary's lead to 20 at 73-53 with 7:29 remaining. Beverly's 3-pointer at the 4:53 mark opened up an 82-55 advantage and a layup by Behr made it a laugher at 90-57 with only 2:44 on the clock. Murage completed a four-point play with 2:12 left for a 95-60 lead and added a layup for the Gents' final points with 13 seconds left as they finished just three points shy of 100.
The Gents will now be off for 10 days to rest up for a critical home match up against the University of St. Thomas Celts set for Tuesday, Jan. 30 at 5:30 p.m. at the Gold Dome. The Celts defeated the Gents by a score of 67-59 in Houston in the previous meeting between the two teams on Dec. 12.
See the complete Gents' season schedule here: https://www.gocentenary.com/sports/mbkb/2023-24/schedule
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