After falling behind early, Centre came back to pull out a 65-57 victory over Austin in Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference men's basketball action Friday in Sherman, Tex.

Senior forward Greg Ross (Cincinnati, Ohio) had game-highs of 18 points and 10 rebounds while freshman Josh Karsner (Frankfort, Ky.) added 14 points for the Colonels, who overcame a double digit deficit in the first half.

Centre fell in a hole in the opening moments as Austin began the game on a 12-2 run. The Kangaroos went on to reach their biggest lead at 19-7 on a Greg Harrell layup, but the Colonels began to chip away after that point.

After Ross started things with a 3-point play at the 3:40 mark, Centre went on to finish the first half on a 10-2 run, cutting a 29-18 deficit to 31-28 by the break. The Colonels scored the first four points of the second half to take their first lead on a pair of Collin Lopez (Louisville, Ky.) free throws.

The teams traded baskets before Centre went ahead for good on back-to-back 3-pointers by Bryon Ellis (Russell Springs, Ky.) and Karsner, then added some breathing room when Karsner struck again from outside to make the score 45-38 with 13 minutes to go. 

Centre would lead by as many as 11 points after a Ross layup with 11 minutes left. The closest Austin would come the rest of the way was 58-55 after a Walter Phillips layup at the 2:38 mark, only to see Lopez answer with a 3-pointer on the other end to keep the margin at two possessions the rest of the way.

Josh Saunders led Austin with 14 points while Antione Thompson added 11 off the bench. Ellis and Lopez each had nine to follow Ross and Karsner in the scoring column for Centre. 

The Colonels forced 20 turnovers while giving the ball away just 10 times, helping them overcome a 39-23 deficit on the boards and the 45 percent (21-of-47) to 40 percent (21-of-53) edge Austin held from the field. The Kangaroos also shot 4-of-8 from beyond the arc to Centre's 8-of-27.

With their fourth straight win, the Colonels move to 13-5 overall and 7-3 in SCAC play while Austin falls to 10-9 overall with a 6-4 mark in the conference. Centre continues its Texas road trip with a game at Dallas at 4 p.m. Sunday.