LEXINGTON, Ky. – The Centre men's basketball team dug itself a huge hole in the first ten minutes of their rivalry matchup at Transylvania, falling behind by 20 points. The Colonels eventually cut the lead to a single point, but couldn't get over the hump as the Pioneers won 73-70.
 
GAME HIGHLIGHTS
 
- Carter Baughman took the opening tip and quickly darted to the rack for a layup on the game's first possession, but Transy controlled the opening minutes after hitting their first five shots.
- The Pioneers' lead ballooned to 20 points at 29-9 at the halfway point of the first half as they switched defenses, forced turnovers and got easy transition opportunities.
- The Colonels began to chip away at the lead as soon as they fell behind by 20, crashing the offensive boards, drawing fouls and coming back at the free throw line. A layup by Dru Markham and free throws from Chez Moore cut the deficit to single digits with less than two minutes to go in the half, but two Transy three-pointers extended the lead to 44-30 at the break.
- Trailing 50-34 early in the second half, Noah Ring and Baughman connected on consecutive triples. Centre cut back on the turnovers, got settled into a zone defense and took away the transition game, getting it back to single digits on free throws by Cade Stinnett and Marshall Taylor.
- Hunter Coleman's three late in the shot clock cut the lead to 61-57 with six minutes left. Transy would make consecutive baskets to go back up by eight, but the Colonels took this moment to stage their biggest push of the game.
- Stinnett made a layup in traffic to cut it to six, and then hit a runner in the corner and drew a blocking foul as his free throw made it 65-62. Following another defensive stop, Moore converted a tough bucket in the paint and the lead was down to one point at the 4:05 mark.
- From there, the offense went cold again as Transylvania came through with some clutch blocks in the closing minutes. Drew Wilson hit a pair of threes down the stretch, but the Pioneers made just enough free throws to hold onto the three-point margin.
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
 
- Stinnett led the Colonels once again with 15 points.
- Moore finished with 14 points, a game high nine rebounds, two assists and three steals before fouling out in the final minute.
- After Transylvania scorched the nets to the tune of 59 percent shooting in the first half, the Centre defense held the Pioneers to 33 percent from the floor in the second half.
 
NEXT UP
 
The Colonels will go back on the road after Thanksgiving as they head to Louisville on Saturday to face Spalding.