LEXINGTON, Va. - The Centre men's basketball team returned from three weeks off for the first of two games at the Washington & Lee Holiday Classic, where they battled the Piedmont Lions. The Colonels lost to Piedmont by a score of 82-76.
GAME HIGHLIGHTS
-
Kalib Thomas opened the scoring with a three-pointer as the two teams traded the lead early and often.
- Piedmont grabbed a six-point edge at the halfway mark of the first half, but Centre battled back to take the lead after a three by
Jaxson Banks and five straight points from Thomas.
- With six minutes to go in the half,
Hunter Coleman ripped down a rebound, raced the other way and scored, plus a foul, and the three-point play put Centre back on top 29-28.
- A layup from Banks, a free throw from
Izayiah Villafuerte and a three-pointer by
Ryan Shene made it 36-34 in favor of the Colonels, but the final three minutes of the half belonged to Piedmont as they scored the final nine points to take a 43-36 edge at the break.
- After trading baskets for the first four minutes of the second half, the Lions made their move with eight straight points for their biggest lead of the night at 60-47. The Colonels clawed back as Shene nailed consecutive three-pointers to get the deficit back to single digits.
- The Colonels trailed by 11 again before the defense clamped down, holding the Lions scoreless for the next four minutes. Villafuerte connected on a three.
Drake Ingram got loose for a layup on the break. Shene capped off the 8-0 run with yet another three-pointer and Centre had cut the margin to 66-63.
- That was as close as Centre got the rest of the way as Piedmont had just enough answers to keep the Colonels behind by two scores over the final minutes.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Shene delivered a new career high as the freshman poured in 19 points to lead the Colonels, helping Centre enjoy a 28-16 advantage in bench points. Banks, Thomas and Villafuerte all scored in double figures for the Colonels as well.
- Centre held a 39-36 edge on the glass, led by a game high 12 boards from
Nolan Wahl.
NEXT UP
Centre will wrap up play at the W&L Holiday Classic with a game against the Methodist Monarchs on Monday at 2 PM.
