DANVILLE, Ky. – Centre men's basketball turned in a total team effort Friday evening, shrugging off a slow start to defeat Millsaps, 68-57, inside Alumni Gymnasium.
The Colonels improve to 16-3 overall and remain atop the Southern Athletic Association with a 7-1 conference mark. Millsaps drops its fifth in a row, falling to 10-9 and 2-6 in-conference.
All 11 Colonels that saw action sank at least one field goal, as Centre finished with 32 bench points.
Perry Ayers paced Centre with 14 points, eight rebounds, three assists and two steals.
HIGHLIGHTS
- Centre fell in a 10-2 hole early on, but a pair of
Dawson Crump 3-pointers helped tie the game at 10-10 near the 12-minute mark.
- The visiting Majors proved a feisty opponent, however, knocking down their first four 3-point tries to grab an 18-13 advantage.
- The Colonels' counterpunch came in a short 7-0 spurt – in which
Hogan Brownley scored five – giving Centre a 24-22 lead.
- A thrilling end to the first half was capped by
Art Walker's 3-pointer at the buzzer, giving Centre a 37-30 lead.
- Centre opened the second half on a devastating 14-0 run, keeping Millsaps off the board for more than six minutes. Ayers had five early points to spark the run.
- The Colonels' lead swelled to 25 after a
Jakob Spitzer jumper made it 60-35 with 9:14 left.
- Millsaps whittled the deficit down to 10, as Centre hit a cold spell that lasted more than six minutes, but the lead proved too much to overcome.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Centre shot 25 of 58 (43.1%) overall from the floor. Ayers and Spitzer each hit 4 of 8 individually.
- Millsaps was limited to just 17 of 51 (33.3%) shooting, including a 7-for-25 effort in the second half.
- The Colonels held a 19-3 advantage in points off turnovers and a 30-18 edge in points in the paint.
UP NEXT
Centre looks to stay undefeated at home Sunday, hosting Birmingham-Southern Sunday at 3 p.m. ET in Alumni Gym.
