Junior guard Matt Nestheide (Edgewood, Ky.) scored a game-high 26 points and the Centre College men's basketball team defeated Berea College 82-66 in the championship game of the Pepsi/Sodexho Invitational Tournament, hosted by Berea College, Saturday, Nov. 18, in Berea, Ky.
With the win, the Colonels up their record to 2-0 in the early going, while Berea falls to 3-2 on the year. The two schools have met in each of the last four years with Centre winning all four contests.
The Colonels shot 46.7% (14-30) in the first half but trailed the Mountaineers 41-36 at halftime. Berea shot the ball well in the first half making 16 of its 30 (53.3%) shots, including making for of its nine( 44.4%) three point attempts.
Centre rallied in the second half out scoring the Mountaineers 46-25 to go away with the 82-66 win. The Colonels shot 42.9% (12-28) in the second period, but the defense stepped up limiting Berea to only 27.8% (10-36) from the field, including only two of 13 (15.4%) from beyond the three-point arc.
Nestheide made six of his 11 (54.5%) shots from the floor and was 12 of 15 (80.0%) from the free throw line. He also had four assists, four rebounds and three steals in 35 minutes of action. For his efforts, Nestheide was named the tournaments MVP.
Sophomore forward T.C. Thomason (Russellville, Ky.) add his second consecutive double-digit scoring performance, tallying 13 points, seven rebounds and five steals. Freshman forward Danny Noll (Ft. Mitchell, Ky.) scored 11 points and sophomore guard Ryan Crowdis (Louisville, Ky.) added 10 points in the win, both coming off the bench.
Joining Nestheide on the all-tournament team was senior center John Patterson (Lexington, Ky.). Patterson averaged 9.0 points and 10.0 rebounds in the two games.
Melvin Brown led three Mountaineers in double figures with 17 points, eight rebounds, five steals and four assists. Cody Hornsby added 13 points off the bench and Thomas Klimas chipped in 11 points.
Centre will next travel to Maryville, Tenn. to play Maryville College. The Fighting Scots are ranked 23rd in the D3hoops.com preseason poll. Tip-off is set for 8 p.m.
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