DANVILLE, Ky. – Centre men's basketball capped off its 2023-24 regular season with a home rematch against the Sewanee Tigers. The Colonels overcame a large deficit in the first half to make it a game by halftime and then played well in the second half on the way to an 81-74 victory.
 
GAME HIGHLIGHTS
 
- The Tigers came out with guns blazing in the opening minutes, hitting their first four shots of the game and jumping out to an 18-4 lead after the second media timeout.
- As Sewanee cooled down, Centre heated up. Jaxson Banks came off the bench to score five straight points and the Colonels began bombing away from long range. Carson Wooldridge made a pair of threes and Izayiah Villafuerte made another in a run that saw Centre outscore Sewanee 20-7, capped off with a three-pointer from Carter Baughman to tie the game.
- The two teams traded baskets for the remainder of the half. Caleb Maul got a putback to tie the score at 34-34 and Sewanee took a 36-35 lead into the locker room at halftime.
- The Centre defense clamped down in the early stages of the second half and the Colonels took the lead for the first time on a jumper from Cade Stinnett that kicked off a 9-0 Centre rally, punctuated by a Maul dunk.
- After Sewanee cut the deficit to three, the Colonels responded as Wooldridge and Villafuerte nailed consecutive threes and Centre extended to a 57-48 lead.
- Centre led by as many as 11 points at 68-57 on a three-point play by Landen Hamilton, but Sewanee hung tough, racking up fouls on the Colonels and taking advantage at the free throw line to stay in the game.
- Baughman carried the offensive load for the Colonels down the stretch, making a clutch jumper at the end of the shot clock and nailing free throws to help Centre ice the victory.
 
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
 
- Baughman led a balanced Centre scoring effort with 17 points. Wooldridge had a career game with 13 points and six rebounds. Stinnett (12), Hamilton (11) and Villafuerte (10) gave the Colonels five double digit scorers for the night.
- Centre held a 41-39 edge on the glass as Chez Moore pulled down a game high 12 rebounds.
- Maul had a productive night off the bench, finishing with nine points and eight boards in 17 minutes as the Colonels enjoyed a 24-20 advantage in bench points.
- The Colonels shot 46 percent from three-point range compared to 30 percent for the Tigers.
 
NEXT UP
 
Tonight's win secured the no. 4 seed in the conference for Centre, meaning the Colonels will host no. 5 seed Sewanee in SAA quarterfinal action on Sunday.