BIRMINGHAM, Ala. – Centre men's basketball saw its season come to a close Sunday, falling by a narrow 71-68 score at Birmingham-Southern in the Southern Athletic Association Tournament quarterfinals.
 
The Colonels finish the season 11-12 overall while the host Panthers move onto the SAA Tournament semifinals and improve to 12-12.
 
HIGHLIGHTS
- A quick 8-0 run early in the game helped the Colonels claim a 14-6 advantage. Carter Baughman and Dustin Gerald each sank 3-pointers during the spurt, which forced a timeout from BSC.
- Centre kept the pressure on during the remainder of the opening period, eventually carrying a 44-30 lead into the half. Gerald, Baughman and RJ Smith combined for 29 points, and as a team the Colonels knocked down eight 3-pointers.
- Consecutive buckets from Gerald to begin the second half gave Centre a 48-30 lead – its largest of the game.
- The Panthers went on an 8-0 stretch later in the game to cut the deficit to single digits, but 3-pointers from Smith and Baughman quickly pushed the Centre lead back to 14 with under eight minutes to play.
- During the final stages of the contest, the Panthers out-scored the Colonels 21-4 to storm back and escape with a win.
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Smith led all scorers with 22 points, adding six rebounds, three assists, a block and a steal.
- Gerald followed with 16, also grabbing six rebounds while delivering two steals.
- Baughman finished with 12 points, all from 3-pointers, and led Centre with three steals.
- Noah Ring led Centre with nine rebounds, followed by seven from Chez Moore.
- After shooting 46% (16-35) overall in the first half, the Colonels went just 35% (9-26) in the second.
- Centre held BSC to under 38% (26-69) from the floor, but the Panthers made up for it with 14 threes.
- The Panthers out-rebounded the Colonels 47-37.