The Centre mens basketball team won the first ever SAA Tournament in a thriller over Birmingham Southern on Sunday in Danville, Ky.. The Colonels defeated the Panthers in a defensive battle, 46-44.

Freshman Blake Scinta (Louisville, Ky.) led all scorers with 15 points, en route to being named Tournament Most Outstanding Player. Scinta was joined on the All-Tournament Team by junior Donovan Whiteside (Knoxville, Tenn.), who scored eight points and grabbed six rebounds. Kevin Kegarise and Larry Thomas paced the Panthers with 11 points, while Zac Richards scored ten for Birmingham Southern.

Defense dominated the contest from the opening tip to the final buzzer. The Panthers built the largest lead of the game on a Zac Richards jumper to put them up 17-9 at the 7:41 mark of the first half. The Colonels answered back with a 10-2 run, tying the score on a three-pointer by senior Matt Griggs (Cincinnati, Ohio). BSC scored six of the last eight points of the half to take a 25-21 halftime lead.

Centre came out of the gates strong in the second half, scoring the first six points of the half on two free throws from freshman Tyler Wesley (Crestwood, Ky.), sandwiched by baskets by Blake Scinta and sophomore Chris Taylor (Louisville, Ky.) The two teams traded baskets for the next eight minutes and the score was tied at 34. A 3-pointer by sophomore Josh Karsner (Frankfort, Ky.) followed by free throws from Taylor and Wesley gave the Colonels their biggest lead of the game at 41-34. After two Panther threes brought the score to 43-42, Scinta made a tough basket in the paint, then stole an attempted post feed by BSC and drew a foul, hitting one of two free throws to put Centre up 46-42 with two minutes to go.

The Panthers cut the lead in half with a tip-in by Griffin Schamp, and after both teams failed to score on the next three possessions, Birmingham Southern had the ball with ten seconds remaining and a chance at the last shot. Schamp's three-point attempt sailed wide and the Colonels emerged victorious.

The NCAA Division III Tournament Selection Show can be seen at 12:30 p.m. on Monday at NCAA.com.