Wildcats Fall to Centenary

11/27/2017 10:56:00 PM

By: LC Sports Information - Brad Welborn

Box Score

A barrage of three-point shots filled the air on Monday night as the Louisiana College men's basketball team faced off with in-state rival Centenary. The Gents sent a total of 34 shots up from behind the arc, knocking down 15 of them, in route to a 91-69 victory over the Wildcats at Prather Coliseum in Natchitoches. The Wildcats open American Southwest Conference play on Thursday evening at Rapides Parish Coliseum against McMurry University.

Early in the game it appeared as if the Wildcats would be the ones knocking down shots from distance as a pair of threes from Rex Hollis and Jacquez Coleman scored the first six points of the game for LC. The game remained close through the majority of the first half with the Wildcats continuing to hang with the three happy Gents. Each time LC would get within a possession of Centenary, they would hit a big shot from distance to push their lead back up by three.

Thanks to a 6-0 run at the midway point of the half, the Wildcats would finally regain the lead on a jumper from Travis Schultz at 21-20. The Gents answered with a bucket to take the lead back, but Schultz would hit a three of his own on LC's next trip to put the Wildcats back on top by two. They would cling to their slim lead until the Gents put together a 12-0 run to go back up 38-29 with 3:27 left in the half. The Wildcats erased the nine-point deficit over the final three minutes of play but the three-ball by Dyllon Weaver with 11 seconds left in the half gave Centenary the 41-38 lead at the break.

Centenary took 21 of their 30 shots from behind the arc in the first half, while LC only attempted 23, making the most of the opportunities. The key to the half and the game was the turnover difference as the Wildcats turned the ball over 23 times, leading to 23 points for the Gents.

The threes continued to rain in the second half for Centenary, knocking in one just 14 seconds in the half to extend their lead to six. The Wildcats continued to battle tough and found themselves tied at 53 with 13:43 left in the game. Centenary would score on their next four possessions in a row, hitting three shots from distance during the stretch to push their lead back to eight at 64-56. Before it was all said and done they had a 26-5 run on their hands that put them in firm control of the game, leading to the 91-69 victory.

Devon Washington led the scoring effort for the Wildcats with 13 points and seven rebounds. Freshmen Lashard Powell and Rex Hollis both finished with double figures as well with 11 and 10 points respectively.

The Wildcats open ASC play this weekend as they host McMurry on Thursday night at Rapides Coliseum at 7:30 p.m. They then take on two time defending ASC champion Hardin-Simmons Saturday afternoon. Admission for both days is $10 at the door. Stay connected to Louisiana College men's basketball all season by following @LC_MBSK on Twitter. For general athletics news follow @LC_Wildcats on Twitter or like Louisiana College Wildcats on Facebook.

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