Following two straight losses, the Centre College men's basketball team jumped back into the win column defeating the University of Cincinnati-Clermont 83-69 in the consolation game of the 14th Annual John R. Collier Tournament, hosted by Hanover College, Sunday, Nov. 26, in Hanover, Ind.
The Colonels, which fell to Albion College 71-69 one day earlier, improves to 3-2 overall, while Cincinnati-Clermont's overall record drops to 4-3 on the year.
Centre opened the game on a 15-5 run to start the game. The Colonels continued to be in control of the first half when sophomore guard Kris Bentley (Pikeville, Ky.) nailed a three-pointer to give Centre a 32-22 lead with 5:27 left in the first period.
The Cougars fought their way back, using a 12-2 run to tied the game at 34 apiece with just under two minutes left in the half. The Colonels scored the next six points before Trevor Donald hit a lay-up for Cincinnati-Clermont to end the half and make the score 40-36 at the break.
The second half was all Centre, as the Colonels opened the period with a 17-3 run to extend its lead to 57-39 with 14:23 left to play. The lead was pushed to 20 points three different times and the Cougars would get no closer than 11 points (77-67) the remainder of the way.
Centre made 15 of 24 shots (62.5%) in the second half to finish with a 49.2% (29-59) shooting percentage for the game, while Cincinnati-Clermont shot 43.1% (25-58) for the game. The Colonels also controlled the boards out rebounding the Cougars 39-28.
Five Colonels scored in double figures led by senior forward Matt Jacobson's (Lagrange, Ky.) 15 points, seven rebounds and four assists. Sophomore forward T.C. Thomason (Russellville, Ky.) scored 13 points with four rebounds and three steals.
Junior guard Matt Nestheide (Edgewood, Ky.), sophomore guard Ryan Crowdis (Louisville, Ky.) and Bentley all finished with 12 points each. Senior center John Patterson (Lexington, Ky.) scored eight points and grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds. He also blocked three shots.
Stefan Dunn led Cincinnati-Clermont with 15 points, six rebounds and two steals. Jeff Hicks added 11 points four rebounds and three steals off the bench, while Driver finished with 12 points and seven rebounds off the bench.
For their efforts, Nestheide was named to the all-tournament team, while Patterson was named the tournament's top defensive player. Nestheide averaged 17.5 points per game, while Patterson grabbed 19 rebounds and blocked nine shots in the two games.
Centre will next return home for the first time Tuesday, Nov. 28, to host Berea College. The Colonels defeated the Mountaineers 82-66 earlier this year. Tip-off is set to start at 7:30 p.m. in Danville, Ky.
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