DANVILLE, Ky. – In a battle of undefeated heavyweights, Centre came from behind to defeat Sewanee, 80-71, in overtime Saturday in the Southern Athletic Association opener.
Trailing by as many as 14 points, Centre (6-0, 1-0 SAA) rode a lively home crowd and outscored the visiting Tigers (7-1, 0-1) by a 14-5 margin in the extra period.
Jacob Bates scored a career-high 26 points and added 12 rebounds, going 12 of 15 from the free throw line.
HIGHLIGHTS
- Early triples from Bates,
Tucker Sine and
Bailey Rakes had the Colonels ahead, 13-9.
- The Tigers would soon heat up, however, going on an 11-0 run to take control of the scoreboard.
- Sewanee hit eight of its first 10 3-pointers, and led by Luke Smith's 17 points took a 39-34 lead into the halftime break.
- The Tigers answered an early Colonel run in the second half, seemingly poised to escape Alumni Gym with a win after grabbing a 57-46 lead midway through the period.
- Centre's second unit and a raucous crowd sparked a huge comeback for the home team. Less than three minutes after trailing by 11,
Jarod Griffin laid in a bucket that gave the Colonels a 58-57 lead. Rookie
Dustin Gerald scored five crucial points during the stretch.
- From there, the two sides traded punches and eventually settled for a 66-66 draw after regulation. Bates hit a pair of clutch freebies late to level the score.
- Centre simply overwhelmed Sewanee in the extra period, scoring the first nine points of the period to slam the door closed.
-
Perry Ayers' circus and-one that lifted Centre to a 71-66 lead seemed to be the final dagger needed from the Colonels.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Bates surpassed his previous career best of 23 points, at times proving to be Centre's catalyst on the offensive end. Sine followed with 13 points, but again the Colonels showed off their depth with ten different scorers.
- Centre amassed 15 points off turnovers and 14 second chance points. The Colonels also finished +9 on the glass, finishing with more rebounds than their opponent for the sixth time in as many games.
- The game featured nine lead changes and five ties.
UP NEXT
Centre is off until Dec. 12, when it hosts Spalding in Alumni Gym for a 7 p.m. ET tip.
