Gents' Season Ends In SCAC Tournament Semifinals To Nationally-Ranked Celts
The Centenary men's basketball team had its season come to an end on Saturday as the Gents fell 64-34 to the nationally-ranked University of St. Thomas Celts in the first semifinal of the 2026 Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference Tournament on the Hendrix College campus at Cliff Garrison Court inside Grove Gymnasium.
| Final | 1 | 2 | T |
|---|---|---|---|
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16 | 18 | 34 |
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33 | 31 | 64 |
Conway, Ark. – The Centenary men's basketball team had its season come to an end on Saturday as the Gents fell 64-34 to the nationally-ranked University of St. Thomas Celts in the first semifinal of the 2026 Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference Tournament on the Hendrix College campus at Cliff Garrison Court inside Grove Gymnasium.
Men's Tournament Bracket | Official Tournament Website
The Gents, the No. 2 seed in the Blue Division, finish their season 11-16 overall and 8-8 in SCAC play. The Celts, the Gold No. 1 seed who were a perfect 16-0 in conference play in the regular season, improved to 25-1 overall and have won 22 in a row. St. Thomas is ranked fifth in the D3hoops.com men's Top 25 poll and will face either Concordia University or LeTourneau University in Sunday's championship game at NOON.
"Credit to St. Thomas," said Centenary head coach J.A. Anglin.
"They deserve to be ranked in the top five in the country. Our defense was good, but theirs was better today."
"Very proud of this group as most teams would have quit after a 1-9 start, but they were resilient. They trusted our coaching staff and believed in the process of getting better."
"They fought and clawed to get in the conference tournament and finish the season in the semifinals. We will use this experience to grow and develop. This young group put our program back where it belongs and I couldn't be more proud."
Centenary was held to a season-low in points and shot a season-low 23.6 % (13-55) from the floor and also struggled from beyond the arc (3-22 for 13.6 %) and the free-throw line (5-13 for 38.5 %). St. Thomas finished 25-60 overall for 41.7 %, 35.3 % (6-17) from 3-point range, and 8-9 from the FT line (88.9 %). The Celts outrebounded the Gents 49-33 and doubled them up in the paint, 28-14.
The Gents turned the ball over 11 times which led to 17 points for the Celts and UST's 10 turnovers led to only two for Centenary. The Celts finished with a slight edge (7-4) in second-chance points and finished with a 12-0 advantage in fastbreak points. St. Thomas finished with a decisive advantage in bench points (35-2). The Gents finished with six assists, two steals, and three blocked shots while the Celts tallied nine assists, six steals, and a pair of blocked shots.
Centenary was down 33-16 at halftime and was outscored 31-18 in the second half and were led in scoring by senior G Quentin Beverly (Katy, Texas) and freshman G Jaden Braden (Natchitoches, La.) who each scored 10 points. Freshman G/F Kane Broussard (Iowa, La.) had eight, junior F Me'Khai Taylor (New Orleans, La.) four, and sophomore G Nicholas Addison (Cedar Hill, Texas) added two.
Freshman C Bryce Evans (Austin, Texas) was held scoreless for the second game in a row but grabbed three rebounds and had one blocked shot. Junior F Dontarius Coleman (Gibsland, La.), freshman G Ryan Spears (Pearland, Texas) and freshman G/F Ashton Savoie (Lake Charles, La.) also did not score but the trio combined for two rebounds, an assist, and a blocked shot.
Corey Thompson and Brennan Webb each scored 11 points to lead the Celts and all scorers and Nicholas Buffalo joined them in double figures with 10. Jaden Ross had seven and six Celts combined to score 25 points.
POSTGAME NOTES:
Following an 0-6 and 1-9 start to the season, the Gents went 10-7 the rest of the way which included a six-game winning streak from Jan. 30-Feb. 13.
The Gents made their 12th appearance in the SCAC Tournament, and are now 14-11 all-time in the event.
Saturday's semifinal appearance was Centenary's eighth all-time.
Quentin Beverly scored in double figures a team-high 25 times this season and did so in 14-straight games to end the season.
The sensational rookie Jaden Braden reached double figures 20 times this season, and in 13 of his last 15 games.
Beverly, who became just the 37th Gent to score 1,000 or more career points earlier this season, finishes his stellar career with 1,278 points to rank 20th all-time in the 102 years of Centenary men's basketball.
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
Centenary (La.)
St. Thomas (Tex.)
| Game Statistics | Centenary (La.) | St. Thomas (Tex.) |
|---|---|---|
| Field Goals | (13-55) | (25-60) |
| Field Goal % | 23.6% | 41.7% |
| Rebounds | 33 | 49 |
| Assists | 6 | 9 |
| Turnovers | 11 | 10 |
| Pts off Turnovers | 2 | 17 |
| 2nd Chance Pts | 4 | 7 |
| Pts in the Paint | 14 | 28 |
| Fastbreak Pts | 0 | 12 |
| Bench Pts | 2 | 35 |
