By LEE HILLER, Journal Sports

Tuesday night’s Centenary basketball doubleheader at the Gold Dome against St. Thomas had high stakes but disappointing results for the home teams.

The Gents, established as a championship contender in the Southwestern Collegiate Athletic Conference, dropped a battle for first place in the league, 54-50.  The Ladies, coming off their first win of the season in their last outing and facing a struggling foe, couldn’t sustain their momentum and lost 75-66.

GENTS FALL LATE: Calvin Williams IV scored eight of his game-high 26 points in the final three minutes of the game and put the Celts up for good 50-48 with a steal and layup with 1:19 left in the game.

His two free throws with :56 left gave St.Thomas a 52-48 lead but the Gents’ Seth Thomas (22 points) hit a bucket in the lane to pull Centenary within 52-50 with 38 ticks left. A Williams driving layup with 12 seconds left put the game away at 54-50. Centenary’s Tykeem Singleton was the only other player in double digits with 11.

St. Thomas is now 13-2, 7-0 in SCAC and Centenary 11-4, 5-2.

TURNOVER TROUBLES DOOM LADIES: St. Thomas took advantage of 27 Centenary turnovers to defeat the Ladies by nine points.

The Celts (3-11, 2-5 in SCAC) scored the last seven points, mostly off turnovers, in the first half to go into the break tied 35-35.

The Ladies built a 45-40 lead in the third quarter only to have St. Thomas go ahead 48-45 on three Centenary turnovers.

Former Captain Shreve standout Kyra Stokes led Centenary (1-15, 1-6) with 19 points and Dymon Drungo added 11.

Ce’Briaya Bell came off the bench to lead St. Thomas with 15 points.

Contact Lee at leeh051@hotmail.com