Gents Win First Game of Season In Thriller At ETBU
The Centenary men's basketball team picked up its first victory of the season on Tuesday night in thrilling fashion as senior G Craig Collier (North Little Rock, Ark.) nailed a 3-pointer with 15 seconds remaining to lift the Gents to a 64-62 win over the East Texas Baptist University Tigers in a non-conference contest inside Ornelas Gym.
| Final | 1 | 2 | T |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
31 | 33 | 64 |
|
|
35 | 27 | 62 |
Marshall, Texas - The Centenary men's basketball team picked up its first victory of the season on Tuesday night in thrilling fashion as senior G Craig Collier (North Little Rock, Ark.) nailed a 3-pointer with 15 seconds remaining to lift the Gents to a 64-62 win over the East Texas Baptist University Tigers in a non-conference contest inside Ornelas Gym.
The Gents (1-6) and Tigers (3-9) were meeting for the second time this season after ETBU defeated Centenary 73-67 on Nov. 14 in Shreveport. The Tigers led 35-31 at halftime but the Gents outscored the Tigers 33-27 in the second half to record their first win of the young season. The game featured 10 ties and 22 lead changes.
Senior G Quentin Beverly (Katy, Texas) led all scorers with 19 points as he finished 5-11 from the floor in 28 minutes and was 2-5 from beyond the arc and 7-7 at the free-throw line. Beverly added four rebounds and two steals as he reached double figures for the sixth time this season.
Collier was next with 15 points as he came off the bench and played 27 minutes, finishing 6-13 from the floor and 3-7 from 3-point range with one assist and one rebound. Freshman C Bryce Evans (Austin, Texas) had 12 points and five rebounds in 38 minutes as he was 6-10 from the floor with two assists.
Freshman G Jaden Braden (Natchitoches, La.) had 10 points in 34 minutes with one assist and a steal and was 4-8 from the floor and 2-2 at the FT line. Sophomore G Nicholas Addison (Cedar Hill, Texas) had eight points and seven boards in 37 minutes with two assists and two steals. He was also 2-3 at the FT line. Freshman G/F Kane Broussard (Iowa, La.) was held scoreless in 23 minutes but had four rebounds, one assist, and a steal.
The Gents shot 42.1 % (24-57) from the floor, 5-20 (25 %) from beyond the arc, and an impressive 91.7 (11-12) at the FT line. The Tigers went 25-51 from the floor for 49 % but struggled from beyond the arc (3-14 for 21.4 %) and at the FT line (9-14 for 64.3 %). The Gents finished with seven assists and five steals while the Tigers tallied five assists, one steal, and one blocked shot.
ETBU outrebounded Centenary 37-25 and finished with a 34-28 edge in points in the paint and 12-9 in second-chance points. Each team scored seven fast break points and 15 bench points. The Tigers turned he ball over 14 times which led to 15 Centenary points while the Gents turned it over a season-low four times which the Tigers turned into just four points. Centenary's four turnovers are their fewest since they had six in a 92-65 home win over the University of Dallas last season and their 91.7 % from the FT line is a season-best.
Three ETBU players reached double figures, led by 15 from Michael Roberts. Christian Dews had 11 and Shad Levy finished with 10. Jack Pease had nine, Nathan Fleming eight, Antone Stewart IV seven, and Joshua Joe added two. Roberts added a game-high 15 rebounds for an impressive double-double.
ETBU opened the game on a 6-0 run and stretched its lead to 20-10 with 10:48 left in the half, but the resilient Gents roared back and closed their deficit to just two at 24-22 with 4:32 remaining on a FT by Addison that capped a 12-4 run. A trey by Collier got the Gents within a point at 28-27 at the 2:04 mark and then an 8-3 run in the final two minutes by the Tigers gave them their four-point halftime lead.
The Gents wasted no time in started their comeback in the second half as Evans hit a jumper 19 seconds in and two FT's at the 19:09 mark by Braden tied the game at 35-35. Pease made a basket but Beverly's trey at the 18:13 mark gave the Gents a 38-37 lead - their first of the game.
ETBU then scored the next four points to reclaim the lead at 41-38 but a 9-3 run by the Gents gave them a 47-44 advantage with 14:03 remaining. Levy's jumper at the 8:49 mark gave the Tigers a 51-49 lead but baskets by Beverly and Evans followed to give Centenary the lead at 53-51. Pease made a pair of FT's at the 5:39 mark to give ETBU a 56-53 lead but Collier drained a 3-pointer to tie the game at 56-56 with 3:36 remaining.
Just 22 seconds later Dews dunked to make it 58-56 ETBU but Beverly connected from deep for a 59-58 lead at the 2:50 mark. A jumper by Pease made it 60-59 ETBU with 2:32 on the clock. Following an ETBU timeout, Braden made a jumper at the 1:36 mark to make it 61-60 Gents.
Dews rebounded a miss by Roberts on the following possession and ETBU called another timeout. Roberts then hit a jumper to give the Tigers a 62-61 lead with 1:07 remaining. Addison missed a shot with 38 seconds left which Pease rebounded for ETBU, but Roberts turned the ball over with 30 seconds left and the gents took over.
Centenary then inbounded the ball in front of their own bench and after multiple passes around the perimeter, the ball was fed inside to Evans who then quickly dished it out to Collier alone in the corner where he buried the game-winning trey with just 15 seconds on the clock.
An obvious double dribble on Pease brining the ball up the court that was not called followed and the Gents, who had a foul to give, committed a foul. Appropriately and interestingly, Pease lost control of the ball on the next possession as he attempted to attack the middle of the lane and Beverly scooped up the turnover as time expired and the extremely relieved and victorious Gents celebrated.
Centenary returns to action on Friday against Howard Payne University Brownwood, Texas at 7:30 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
#GoCentenary #CTheOpportunity
Team Stats
East Tex. Baptist
| Game Statistics | Centenary (La.) | East Tex. Baptist |
|---|---|---|
| Field Goals | (24-57) | (25-51) |
| Field Goal % | 42.1% | 49.0% |
| Rebounds | 25 | 37 |
| Assists | 7 | 5 |
| Turnovers | 4 | 14 |
| Pts off Turnovers | 15 | 4 |
| 2nd Chance Pts | 9 | 12 |
| Pts in the Paint | 28 | 34 |
| Fastbreak Pts | 7 | 7 |
| Bench Pts | 15 | 15 |
