Gents Edged 63-62 At LeTourneau In SCAC Opener
The Centenary men's basketball team held the lead for the majority of its Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference opener on Tuesday evening against LeTourneau University but a late trey by the YellowJackets gave them a 63-62 win over the Gents inside Solheim Arena.
Longview, Texas - The Centenary men's basketball team held the lead for the majority of its Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference opener on Tuesday evening against LeTourneau University but a late trey by the YellowJackets gave them a 63-62 win over the Gents inside Solheim Arena.
The Gents (0-6, 0-1 SCAC) took a 62-60 lead on a jumper by senior G Craig Collier (North Little Rock, Ark.) with just 36 seconds remaining but a 3-pointer by Connor Miller with 26 seconds left was the winning basket for the YellowJackets (4-1, 1-0 SCAC).
Centenary, which led 34-32 at halftime, had three players finish in double figures - sophomore G Nicholas Addison (Cedar Hill, Texas) with 15, senior G Quentin Beverly (Katy, Texas) had 14, and freshman G Jaden Braden (Natchitoches, La.) added 13. Miller and Jackson Mayes each had 19 to lead the YellowJackets.
Four of the Gents' six losses have been by six points or less with a pair of one-point losses. Collier finished with eight points, freshman C Bryce Evans (Austin, Texas) and freshman G/F Kane Broussard (Iowa, La.) each had five and junior F Dontarius Coleman (Gibsland, La.) had two.
The Gents shot a season-best 44 % (22-50) from the floor and were red hot in the first half, finishing at 58.3 % before cooling down in the second period (30.8 %). The YellowJackets finished 38. 3 % (23-60) for the game – 40.7 % in the first half and 36.4 % in the second half. Centenary finished 15-19 from the free-throw line (78.9 %) and 3-18 (16.7 %) from 3-point range. LeTourneau went 5-8 from the FT line and 12-32 from beyond the arc (37.5 %).
LeTourneau turned the ball over 19 times and Centenary committed 16. The Gents recorded 11 steals, seven assists, and two blocked shots and the YellowJackets tallied 15 assists, eight steals, and three blocks. Centenary finished with a 26-18 advantage in points in the paint, 14-14 in points off turnovers and 12-7 in fast break points. LeTourneau finished with a 17-4 advantage in second-chance points and 30-10 in bench points. Each team grabbed 32 rebounds.
Evans grabbed a season-best and game-high 10 rebounds and Addison was next with eight. Broussard grabbed four, Beverly three, Collier and Thomas two each, and Coleman finished with one rebound. Braden had a solid overall game with three assists and three steals in 33 minutes as he finished 6-10 from the floor with a trey. Beverly was 6-6 at the FT line in 34 minutes with two steals and an assist and Addison and Broussard each had two steals
LeTourneau's Teigan Edwards added seven points, Alex Ferrell had six, Jak Kinder had five, Logan Brinkoeter four, and Brandon Lynn three. Mayes had a team-high six rebounds and Miller and Edwards each grabbed five. Mayes finished 8-21 from the floor in 34 minutes with six assists and three steals – both team highs.
Centenary jumped out to a 5-0 lead which stretched to 16-7 at the 10:45 mark but LeTourneau went on an 11-0 run to take an 18-16 lead at the 9:02 mark. The teams traded baskets over the next few minutes until a Braden jumper made it 34-27 Gents with 1:36 remaining before halftime. A trey by Mayes and a basket by Miller in the final 40 seconds of the half made it a 34-32 game at halftime.
An 11-5 run to start the second half gave Centenary a 45-37 lead with 15:06 remaining and at the 13:23 mark the Maroon and White got into the bonus. A Mayes jumper gave the YellowJackets a 50-49 lead to cap a 12-5 run at the 11:02 mark.
The Gents then regained the lead and held leads of 55-50 at the 8:00 mark and 57-50 with 7:43 left. A trey by Kinder and a basket by Miller made it 57-55 with 5:39 remaining. Addison then made a layup at the 5:18 mark to make it 59-55 and Collier hit 1-2 at the FT line to make it 60-55 Gents. Mayes' layup made it 60-57 and Miller's trey tied the game at 60-60 with 2:24 left. Five missed shots followed until Collier's jumper made it 62-60 with 36 seconds remaining but 10 seconds later, Miller's trey made it 63-62. The Gents called a timeout and Beverly's last-second shot just missed as the YellowJackets escaped with the win.
Centenary will return to action next Tuesday at East Texas Baptist University in Marshall, Texas at 7 PM.
For more information or to donate to Centenary athletics and the men's basketball program, visit gocentenary.com/gocentenary/C_Club.
See the complete Gents' season schedule here: https://gocentenary.com/sports/mbkb/2025-26/schedule
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