SEWANEE, Tenn. - The Centre men's basketball team dug itself a massive hole in the first half of their SAA season opener against the Sewanee Tigers, but battled back to take the lead in the second half before falling short in the final minutes by a score of 72-66.
GAME HIGHLIGHTS
- The Colonels came out cold, not cracking the scoreboard for the first four minutes of action before
Ryan Shene turned defense to offense, blocking a shot on one end and getting a runout for a dunk on the other.
- Sewanee continued to add to the lead for most of the rest of the first half, eventually going up by as many as 15 points at 28-13. Only superior offensive rebounding kept Centre in the game as
Landen Hamilton rebounded his own free throw miss and
Hunter Coleman nailed a jumper at the buzzer to cut the deficit to 32-23 at the half.
- Centre quickly scored the first two buckets of the second half on a putback dunk by
Johnny Djema and a jumper from Shene. Trailing 37-29, the Colonels made their big push and outscored the Tigers 12-2 over the next four minutes, taking the lead for the first time on free throws from Izaiyah Villafuerte.
- From there, the lead changed hands back and forth for the next five minutes. Villafuerte and Coleman each connected on three-pointers to break ties and give the Colonels their largest lead at three points.
- After Sewanee retook the lead at 54-53, another driving score by Coleman put Centre back on top. That proved to be the final lead of the game for the Colonels as Sewanee scored the next nine points to go back in front, and while the Tigers were shaky at the line in the final minutes, they made enough to preserve the win.
INSIDE THE BOX SCORE
- Shene led the Colonels with 15 points.
- The Colonels held a gigantic 56-34 advantage on the glass, including a 23-5 edge on the offensive boards and a 19-2 advantage in second chance points.
- Centre also held a 31-16 advantage in bench points, with Villafuerte scoring 11.
NEXT UP
The Colonels will return to action on Jan. 9 with a home contest against Millsaps.
