Men's Basketball News
Centre holds off Southwestern for 18th straight win
One night after rallying from 16 points down in the second half to defeat Trinity University, the Centre College men's basketball team did not need a comeback this time as the Colonels defeated Southwestern University 59-49 in a Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC) game Saturday, Feb. 2 in Georgetown, Texas.
The No. 11 ranked Colonels extended two winning streaks, earning their 18th straight win this season and 18th straight win over conference opponents overall. Centre is now 18-1 overall and 10-0 in the SCAC, while Southwestern falls to 8-11 overall and 4-6 in league action.
The Pirates led early out-scoring the Colonels 7-4 in the first 2:52 of the first half, but lost that lead when senior guard Thomas Britt (Louisville, Ky.) knocked down the first of his two three-pointers of the night to tie the game at seven.
Freshman forward Chris Gowers (Louisville, Ky.) then knocked down a three-pointer of his own to give Centre its first lead of the game, a lead that would not be given back.
Ahead 17-13 with 8:47 left in the opening frame, the Colonels scored eight of the next 10 points to push the lead to double figures (25-15). Southwestern scored the final four points of the half, but still trailed 30-24 at the intermission.
Centre continued to control the game in the second half as the Pirates got as close as three points (35-32), but could get no closer as the Colonels posted a season-low six turnovers in the game, while forcing 13 Southwestern turnovers.
Both teams had troubles shooting the ball as Centre finished at 37.7% (20-53), while the Pirates ended the game at 30.6% (15-49). In addition the two teams combined to make only 12 of 49 (24.5%) from beyond the three-point arc.
Britt and junior guard T.C. Thomason (Russellville, Ky.) were the only two players in the entire game to finish in double figures. Thomason scored a game-high 15 points with seven rebounds, three assists and two steals in 25 minutes. Britt added 10 points in 20 minutes, while Gowers grabbed a team-high nine rebounds.
Jonathan Brown was the top scorer for the Pirates, finishing with nine points and nine rebounds. Ross Hayes chipped in eight points and seven rebounds in the defeat.
Centre will next return home to host Birmingham Southern College Friday, Feb. 8. The SCAC game will be played as part of a men's/women's doubleheader and is set to tip off at 8 p.m. in Danville, Ky. |
