Centre's record-breaking season ends: Colonels finish 26-3

RELEASED: March 10, 2008

DANVILLE, KY— Centre College's men's basketball team lost to Ohio Wesleyan 82-65 in the second round of the NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Championship. The game was played in front of a standing-room only crowd of 1,200 on Centre's campus on Saturday, March 8.

Centre College began the first half on a 10-0 run before Ohio Wesleyan finally scored their first points at the 16:38 mark. Centre and Ohio Wesleyan would continue to trade points until the Battling Bishops took the lead 24-22 at the 7:50 mark. The lead would change twice before Ohio Wesleyan would take the final lead of the half and head into the locker room up 38-35.

Both teams shot well during the first half with Centre holding a small edge, shooting 50 percent from the field while the Bishops shot 44.8 percent from the field. There was a similar margin in favor of Centre from behind the three-point arc as the Colonels shot 41.7 percent from long range and Ohio Wesleyan was 37.5 percent from deep.

The major statistical difference in the first half was the Battling Bishops's ability to crash the boards, pulling down 18 total rebounds compared to Centre's 12.

Ohio Wesleyan would carry over their momentum from the first half and never relinquish the lead back to the Colonels. The Battling Bishops continued their domination of the boards by grabbing 34 total rebounds compared to Centre's 27.

Ohio Wesleyan was also able to increase their overall shooting percentage to 60.9 percent, and their three-point accuracy went up to 50 percent in the second half. Centre was unable to maintain their strong shooting from the first half and dropped down to 36.7 percent overall from the field and 26.7 percent from behind the arc.

The Centre College Colonels had four players in double digit figures. Senior Thomas Britt and sophomore Danny Noll both added 15 points to the effort; senior Matt Nestheide and junior T.C. Thomason contributed 10 points each.

- end -

Founded in 1819, Centre College is ranked among the U.S. News top 50 national liberal arts colleges. Consumers Digest ranks Centre No. 1 in educational value among all U.S. 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/

For news archives go to http://www.centre.edu/web/news/newsarchive.html.