Centenary Men’s Basketball Wins Spot In NCAA Tournament

After a few upsets were pulled off in the 2024 Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC), the #3 see Centenary Gents were able to pull off a tournament championship on their own court.

Shreveport's Gold Dome was the host of this year's Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference Basketball Tournaments (both men's and women's), which gave Centenary an advantage going into the weekend. They got to have home court advantage, even in games when they were the "away" team. But it wasn't home court advantage that propelled Centenary's men's team to a title, it was good old fashioned defense.

As the 3rd seed in the tournament, Centenary didn't get the first round bye. So they had to play Schreiner, who was the last seed in the tournament. But Schreiner had a very hot shooting day, especially from the 3-point line. They ended up pushing Centenary to the limit, and the Gents won 76-75. 

In the second round, Centenary had to take on the #2 seed St. Thomas Celts. This is where the Gents really turned up the defensive pressure. They were diving on the floor for loose balls, cornering every defender, and blocking shots all game. The final score was 64-51, and honestly if not for an uncontested 2-point shot in the final seconds, they would have held St. Thomas under 50 points for the entire game.

On the other side of the bracket, #4 seed Colorado College took on the top seeded Trinity, who were also ranked #6 in the nation. With some clutch shooting late, Colorado College was able to pull off the upset to earn a spot in the Championship Game. The Colorado College victory was actually the game before Centenary's semifinal game, so the Gents knew the #4 seed was waiting in the Championship Game.

That set up Sunday's SCAC Championship Game, which you can actually watch in its entirety below.

The Gents had a back-and-forth all afternoon with Colorado College, trading the lead and continuing to play tough defense. Some incredibly clutch shots helped Centenary along the way, including an amazing long-distance three at the halftime buzzer...

But Centenary was still down at the half. They were able to fight back, using that suffocating defense and some timely mid-range shooting to pull off the 83-76 win.

That win comes with an automatic bid into the NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Tournament. A bracket where they are likely to see fellow SCAC team Trinity, even though Trinity didn't win the SCAC Tournament.