Making 15 of its first 19 (78.9%) field goal attempts, the Centre College men's basketball team jumped out to a big lead early and continued to roll defeating Oglethorpe University 96-68 in a Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC) game, Friday, Feb. 16 in Danville, Ky.
The Colonels, which have now won five straight games and 15 of their last 16 to improve to 19-4 overall, continue to keep pace with DePauw University atop the SCAC standings with an 11-2 league mark. The Tigers earned a 94-82 over Sewanee-the University of the South tonight. Oglethorpe falls to 14-10 overall and 8-5 in conference play.
Centre could not miss early as seven different players scored in the first 8:46 of the game as the Colonels raced out to a 30-10 lead. The lead grew to as many as 30 points (49-19) in the first half as the Stormy Petrals had no answer defensively. Going into the break, Centre held a 55-31 lead.
Oglethorpe attempted to get back in the game early in the second half outscoring the Colonels 13-7 to cut the deficit to 18 points (62-44). That would be as close as the Stormy Petrals would get the remainder of the way as Centre continued to dominate pushing the lead to as many as 34 points (92-58) before finishing with the 28-point victory.
Four Centre players finished in double figures led by senior forward Matt Jacobson (Lagrange, Ky.) and sophomore forward T.C. Thomason (Russellville, Ky.). Jacobson and Thomason each finished with 18 points, four rebounds and a steal apiece combining to make 14 of their 23 shots (60.9) from the floor.
Jacobson now needs only three more points to become only the 25th player in Centre men's basketball history to reach the 1,000-career point plateau. With his next three points, the senior forward will join junior guard Matt Nestheide (Edgewood, Ky.), who joined the 1,000-point club earlier this season.
Freshman Danny Noll (Ft. Mitchell, Ky.) scored 14 points and grabbed four rebounds in 20 minutes off the bench and senior center John Patterson (Lexington, Ky.) and junior guard Thomas Britt (Louisville, Ky.) added 10 points apiece.
Eric Dickinson was the top scorer for the Oglethorpe, finishing the game with 17 points and four rebounds. Ahmad Kareem Shaheed was the only other Stormy Petral in double figures. Shaheed finished with 15 points and a game-high 11 rebounds in the loss.
Centre will look to clinch at least a share of the SCAC regular season championship Sunday, Feb. 18, when it hosts Sewanee in the final regular season contest of the season. The game will also be the final regular season home-game for four Centre seniors and will be played as part of a men's/women's doubleheader. Tip-off is set for 1 p.m. in Danville, Ky. |
