Men's Basketball News
Senior guards lead Colonels to seventh straight win
Senior guards Matt Nestheide (Edgewood, Ky.) and Thomas Britt (Louisville, Ky.) posted season-highs each with 18 points apiece to help lead the Centre College men's basketball team to a 79-62 win over Adrian College on the first day of the 2007 Papa John's/Country Hearth Inn Tournament, hosted by Centre Friday, Dec. 28, in Danville, Ky.
The Colonels, which have now won seven straight games this season and 18 straight home games overall, improve to 7-1 overall, while Adrian falls to 4-4 on the year.
Centre jumped out to 15-6 lead, but saw that lead evaporate following a 13-4 run by the Bulldogs to tie the game at 19 each. After a timeout by the Colonels, Nestheide, Britt and freshman Chris Gowers (Louisville, Ky.) nailed three consecutive three-pointers, and sophomore forward Danny Noll (Ft. Mitchell, Ky.) added a lay up to put Centre back in front 30-19.
The Colonels did not look back. Leading 40-29 at halftime, Centre continued to control the game in the second half pushing the lead to as many as 24 points (75-51) before finishing with the 17-point victory.
Nestheide tied his season-high of 18 points connecting on six of his eight shots, while Britt posted his season-best in points by making five of his eight attempts. The senior guards also combined to record seven assists, five rebounds and two steals.
Junior guard T.C. Thomason (Russellville, Ky.) tallied his sixth straight double-figure effort with 13 points. He also came up one rebound shy of posting his second double-double of the season with nine boards, while blocking two shots and adding two assists and a steal. Noll also finished in double figures with 10 points and eight rebounds in only 21 minutes of action.
Adrian guard Ryan Gallus led the Bulldogs with 15 points, six rebounds, four steals and three assists. Lamar Cardenas was the only other Adrian player to score in double figures with 13 points off the bench.
Centre will play Berea College in the Championship game after the Mountaineers jumped out to a 24-4 lead on their way to a 77-65 win over the University of Cincinnati-Clermont in the earlier game of the day.
Mikah Turner led three Berea players in double figures with 18 points, seven rebounds, three assists and three steals. Cody Hornsby posted 17 points, four rebounds and three assists and Nick Britt added 10 points.
The Cougars were led by Stefan Dunn's 18 points and six rebounds off the bench. Derius Hemphill had 17 points and Sean Yates chipped in with 14 in the loss.
UC-Clermont will face Adrian in the consolation game Saturday, Dec. 29 at 1 p.m. followed by the championship game between Centre and Berea at 3 p.m. in Danville, Ky.
|
