Men's Basketball News
Men's basketball team drops opening game 68-67 to Rust
Down by two points with less than a minute left, the Centre College basketball team converted only one of two free throws and fell to Rust College 68-67 in a first round game of the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic hosted by LaGrange College Friday, Nov. 16 in LaGrange, Ga.
The loss, which drops the Colonels to 0-1 on the season, is their first defeat on opening day in the last seven tries, dating back to the 2000-01 season. The game was also the first of the season for Rust, which moves to 1-0.
The first half was back and forth as the two teams traded the lead 11 times. Trailing 19-16 at the 13:02 mark, Rust used a 12-0 run to go ahead 28-19, the largest lead in the half by either team.
The Colonels answered with a run of their own, outscoring Rust 15-5 over the next eight plus minutes to go back ahead 34-31. The half ended with Centre leading 43-39 with both teams shooting over 50.0% (Centre 15-29, 51.7%, Rust 15-28, 53.6%).
The back and forth play continued in the second half with neither team opening a lead bigger than six points. Leading 61-56 with 7:37 to play, Rust fought its way back to take a 68-66 lead. With less than a minute left, the second of two Centre free throws rimmed out and the game would finish with Rust earning the opening-day win.
The game was very evenly played. Rust shot 50.9% (27-53) from the field compared to only 42.6% (23-54) by the Colonels. Rust held a slight edge in rebounds 33-30, while Centre forced two more turnovers (9-7).
Michael Taylor led all scorers with 24 points on nine of 12 shooting. Eric Jackson and Hakeim Ameen also finished in double figures with Jackson scoring 11 points and Ameen 10.
Centre was led by sophomore Danny Noll's (Ft. Mitchell, Ky.) 13 points and eight rebounds. Senior guards Matt Nestheide (Edgewood, Ky.) and Thomas Britt (Louisville, Ky.) added 12 points and four rebounds apiece.
The Colonels will next play in the consolation game against LaGrange, which fell to Emory and Henry College 142-122 in the nightcap. The game will be played at 2 p.m. Sunday, Nov. 17 in LaGrange, Ga. |
