DANVILLE, Ky. – The Centre men's basketball team shot lights out in the second half to hold off a pesky Rhodes Lynx squad in the quarterfinals of the Southern Athletic Association Tournament, eventually winning by a score of 85-77.
 
HIGHLIGHTS
 
- In a rematch of last season's quarterfinal game, the action started out in a similar fashion as neither team could gain much of an edge. Centre went inside and got buckets in the paint from Dawson Crump, Jakob Spitzer and Drew Wilson to take the biggest lead of the half at 15-12 going into the under-12 media timeout.
- At the halfway point of the first half, the Lynx caught fire, making 12 of their final 13 shots of the half and surging out in front. Rhodes took its biggest lead at 37-26 on a breakaway layup from Mac James.
- The Colonels scored on their next four possessions to stem the tide after a three from Crump and then consecutive scores from Jacob Bates, but the deficit stayed above six points thanks to the hot-shooting Lynx, who went up 43-35 going into halftime.
- Centre came out with increased intensity in the second half, opening the scoring after a Crump steal led to a transition layup from Perry Ayers. The Colonels pounded it inside and got a layup from Crump and three easy scores in the paint from Bates, but they failed to get over the hump as Rhodes responded to every threat.
- The Lynx increased their lead to 52-45 on a three from Mitch Weatherford, but that's when Ayers took over, scoring ten of Centre's next 12 points, including a stepback three that put Centre on top for the first time in the second half at 58-56.
- Wilson found Bailey Rakes in the corner for an open three, but Rhodes tied it again at 61-61 on a transition three from James. With the shot clock running down, Art Walker picked a great time for his first points of the game as he converted a driving layup in traffic for a three-point play.
- After Ayers made consecutive jumpers, Rakes grabbed a key offensive rebound and got to the rack for a basket to put Centre up 70-63. The Lynx once again cut the margin to a single point after consecutive threes from Koki Wiley and Nick De Feria, but this time it was the Colonels who had the answers as Ayers and Walker hit jumpers and Crump and Bates made free throws to seal the victory.
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
 
- The Lynx shot 77 percent in the first half, but the Colonels ended up shooting a higher percentage for the game, connecting on 65 percent in the second half and 58 percent for the game.
- Ayers, who battled foul trouble in the first half and was forced into limited minutes because of it, led all players with 26 points, 24 in the second half.
- Bates finished with 22 points, a game high eight rebounds, a pair of blocks and went a perfect 6-6 from the free throw line.
- Crump and Rakes also finished in double figures, Crump with 14 and Rakes with 12. Crump also added five assists for the game.
- For the second straight game, the Colonels did not allow the opposing team to grab a single offensive rebound.
- After poor free throw shooting played a role in a pair of road losses two weeks ago, the Colonels have hit 36 of 38 from the line across the last two games.
 
INTERVIEW




NEXT UP
 
Centre basketball will host the semifinal and final rounds of the SAA Tournament next week. The Colonels will face no. 5 seed Millsaps in the semifinals after the Majors defeated no. 4 seed Oglethorpe by 25 in Atlanta earlier today. Centre defeated Millsaps in both matchups this season, winning by seven in Jackson and 12 in Danville. The bottom half of the bracket will feature no. 2 seed Hendrix and no. 3 seed Berry.