Gents Tame Tigers To Advance To SCAC Tournament Semifinals
The Centenary men's basketball team used stifling defense and senior G Quentin Beverly (Katy, Texas) scored a game-high 24 points as the Gents defeated the Colorado College Tigers on Friday in the opening game of the 2026 Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference Tournament on the Hendrix College campus at Cliff Garrison Court inside Grove Gymnasium.
| Final | 1 | 2 | T |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
18 | 35 | 53 |
|
|
22 | 43 | 65 |
Conway, Ark. – The Centenary men's basketball team used stifling defense and senior G Quentin Beverly (Katy, Texas) scored a game-high 24 points as the Gents defeated the Colorado College Tigers on Friday in the opening game of the 2026 Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference Tournament on the Hendrix College campus at Cliff Garrison Court inside Grove Gymnasium.
The Gents (11-15, 8-8 SCAC) advance to face the Gold No. 1 seed, the University of St. Thomas Celts, in the first semifinal on Saturday at NOON. Centenary is the No. 2 seed in the Blue Division. The Tigers, the No. 3 seed from the Gold Division, finish their season at 12-14, 10-6 in league play.
Men's Tournament Bracket | Official Tournament Website
Photo Gallery | Postgame Interview |
Friday - Quarterfinals
Game 1 - Noon CT - #2B Centenary 65 #3G Colorado College 53
Game 2 - 2 pm CT - #2G Concordia University 74 #3B Austin College 71
Saturday - Semifinals
Game 3 - Noon CT - #1G St. Thomas vs. Winner of Men's G1
Game 4 - 2 pm CT - #1B LeTourneau vs. Winner of Men's G2
Sunday - Finals
Game 5 - Noon CT - Winner of Men's G3 vs. Winner of Men's G4
The Gents shot 42.6 % (23-54) from the floor and held the Tigers to just 25.4 % (17-67) shooting overall. Centenary, one of the league's top defensive clubs, held its eighth opponent to 65 points or fewer this season and 12th to under 70. The Gents have held eight of its last 10 opponents to 68 points or fewer.
Both teams struggled from beyond the arc, as Centenary made just 4-18 attempts (22.2 %) while Colorado College only made two in 20 attempts (10 %) and did not make one until 6:30 remaining in the game. The Gents were strong at the free-throw line, making 15-17 for 88.2 % and the Tigers went 17-26 for 65.4 %. Colorado College edged Centenary in the rebounding battle, 46-43.
Each team finished with seven assists, the Tigers had 10 steals to the Gents' four, and the Tigers blocked five shots while the Gents had four blocks. Centenary turned the ball over 16 times which led to 14 Colorado College points and the Tigers turned it over 11 times which led to 14 points for the Gents. Centenary edged Colorado College in second-chance points, 12-11, and 28-24 in points in the paint. The Tigers finished with an 11-2 advantage in fastbreak points and 21-8 in bench points.
The Gents, who never trailed in the game, led 22-18 at halftime, following a first half that was light on offense for both teams as Centenary made 9-26 from the floor for 34.6 % and Colorado College was only 7-35 for 20.0 %. The teams went a combined 1-15 from beyond the arc – a trey by freshman G/F Kane Broussard (Iowa, La.) at the 18:21 mark, which were the first points of the game.
Beverly scored nine of his team-high 24 points in the first half, one more than the Tigers' Asher Nofziger, who led his team with eight. The Gents held a slim 16-14 lead at the 6:51 mark and then held the Tigers scoreless for nearly seven minutes as they went on a 6-0 run that was capped by a jumper from junior F Me'Khai Taylor (New Orleans, La.) at the 2:10 mark that gave the Gents their largest lead of the half at eight - 22-14. The Tigers finished the half by scoring the final four points but the Gents took a four-point lead into the locker room.
The Gents' offense heated up in the second half, making 50 % (14-28) of their attempts from the floor, 12-13 from the FT line, and three treys. The Tigers continued to struggle shooting the ball, finishing 10-32 for 31.3 % and 2-12 from beyond the arc and 13-19 at the FT line.
Centenary built its lead back up to eight points (30-22) at the 16:56 mark, but Colorado College went on a 6-0 run to cut the Gents' lead to 30-28. Nofziger then fouled Beverly attempting a 3-point shot and he made all three to extend the Gents' lead to 33-28. Centenary led again by eight at 38-30 at the 13:22 mark following a trey by freshman G Jaden Braden (Natchitoches, La.).
The rookie Braden then made consecutive layups to give the Gents their largest lead of the game (44-33) with 10:28 remaining before the half. Broussard then drilled a 3-pointer at the 8:35 mark to make it 49-36 and again Beverly was fouled behind the 3-point line and he made all three to stretch the Gents' lead to 52-38 at the 6:58 mark -their largest of the game. Christian Drummond finally made the Tigers' first trey at the 6:30 mark but Beverly answered with one of his own to make it 55-41. An 8-2 run by the Tigers cut the Gents' lead to 57-49 but Centenary responded with a 6-1 run to take a 63-50 lead with just 1:02 remaining.
Noah Deitch made the Tigers' second trey of the game with only 24 seconds left but it was too little too late and an emphatic dunk by Broussard in the final seconds put an exclamation mark on an impressive victory that sends the Gents to their eighth appearance all-time in the semifinals and first since winning the tournament title in 2024.
Beverly finished 6-12 from the floor and 11-12 at the FT line with one trey and played all 40 minutes. He added six rebounds and one assist. Broussard also played all 40 minutes and was 5-13 from the floor with two two treys to finish with 13 total points. He grabbed eight rebounds and had two blocked shots and a steal.
Braden was 5-13 from the floor and 1-3 from beyond the arc in 36 minutes with two assists to finish with 11 points as he reached double digits for the 19th time this season and has done so in 12 of his last 15 games. Taylor played a key role on Friday as his defense helped neutralize the Tigers' inside game as he recorded an impressive double-double with a season-high tying 10 points and 10 rebounds in 33 minutes. He added two steals and an assist and went 4-4 at the FT line. His only double-figure scoring games this season have come in both contests against the Tigers after he had 10 last Friday.
Sophomore G Nicholas Addison (Cedar Hill, Texas) scored eight points off the bench in 25 minutes on 4-5 shooting with six rebounds and a pair of assists. Freshman C Bryce Evans (Austin, Texas) was held scoreless but he grabbed six key rebounds and had two blocked shots and a steal.
Nofziger led the Tigers with 15 points and grabbed seven rebounds, Terrion Benson added 13 off the bench, and Ty Hendler scored 10.
POSTGAME NOTES:
The Gents, in their 12th appearance in the SCAC Tournament, are now 14-10 all-time in the event.
The Gents and Tigers were meeting for the second time in a week after Colorado College defeated the Maroon and White by a score of 81-62 in Colorado Springs, Colo. last Friday.
Centenary and St. Thomas will be meeting for the second time in less than a week after the Celts downed the Gents 75-63 in the regular-season finale last Sunday in Houston.
Beverly has now scored in double figures a team-high 24 times this season and done so in 13-straight games and has scored 20+ points 13 times following another 20+ point performance on Friday.
Beverly, who became just the 37th Gent to score 1,000 or more career points earlier this season, now has 1,268 career points to rank 21st all-time in the 102 years of Centenary men's basketball and is just five points away from 20th place.
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
Colorado Col.
| Game Statistics | Colorado Col. | Centenary (La.) |
|---|---|---|
| Field Goals | (17-67) | (23-54) |
| Field Goal % | 25.4% | 42.6% |
| Rebounds | 46 | 43 |
| Assists | 7 | 7 |
| Turnovers | 11 | 16 |
| Pts off Turnovers | 14 | 14 |
| 2nd Chance Pts | 11 | 12 |
| Pts in the Paint | 24 | 28 |
| Fastbreak Pts | 11 | 2 |
| Bench Pts | 21 | 8 |
