Men's basketball team claims eighth-straight tournament championship

RELEASED: January 4, 2007

DANVILLE, KY—For the eighth straight year, the Centre College men's basketball team won its holiday tournament, defeating Messiah College 60-56 in the championship game of the Papa John's/Country Hearth Inn Tournament held on Saturday, Dec. 30, here in Danville.

The Colonels, who have now won 16 consecutive games in the holiday tournament and four straight games this season, improve to 8-3 overall, while Messiah falls to 8-2 on the year.

Senior forward Matt Jacobson (Lagrange, Ky.) scored a game-high 23 points on seven of 10 shooting, including four of six from beyond the three-point arc. He also grabbed a game-high seven rebounds and added four assists. For his efforts, Jacobson was named the tournament's Most Valuable Player.

Sophomore forward T.C. Thomason (Russellville, Ky.) scored nine points, while junior guard Matt Nestheide (Edgewood, Ky.) and freshman forward Danny Noll (Ft. Mitchell, Ky.) added eight points apiece. Senior center John Patterson (Lexington) was also named to the all-tournament team for his two-day effort.

Yoder finished with 21 points to lead Messiah. Yoder also had six rebounds, four assists and a steal in being named to the all-tournament team. Matt Henninger was the only other Falcon in double figures scoring 13 points with four rebounds and two steals. Henninger was also named to the all-tournament team.

"It's a great accomplishment to have won our holiday tournament the last 8 years, especially with some of the very good teams who have been invited," says Greg Mason, head coach of Centre's men's basketball team. " We have had some very good basketball players here over that time. And this year is no exception. I like this team and I believe we can have an outstanding season if we can stay healthy."

In the consolation game earlier in the day, St. Norbert College defeated Geneva College 79-69 to finish in third place. Tom Katzfey of St. Norbert and Kyle McDermott from Geneva were selected to the all-tournament team.

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Founded in 1819, Centre College is ranked among the U.S. News top 50 national liberal arts colleges. Centre alumni, known for their nation-leading loyalty in annual financial support, include two U.S. vice presidents and two Supreme Court justices. For more, visit http://www.centre.edu/web/elevatorspeech/

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