JOURNAL SPORTS
SAN ANTONIO – After pulling off a surprise on their homecourt last weekend to reach the NCAA Division III Tournament, the Centenary Gentlemen will need to come up with a bigger stunner this afternoon in March Madness.
The Gents square off at 5:05 p.m. against nationally-ranked Nebraska Wesleyan at Calgaard Gym inside the Bell Center on the campus of Trinity University. It’s the second NCAA appearance in four seasons for Centenary, which is seeking the first NCAA postseason victory in Gents basketball history.
“Playing in the NCAA Tournament is an exciting experience,” said seventh-year Gents coach Chris Dorsey. “Everything is turned up to another level. The practices, the shoot-around, the game intensity is such an amazing feeling. Now to be there twice in five years, we’ve grown into a championship-level program. I’m thankful our guys get to experience this opportunity.”
They will face a tough challenge, he said.
“Nebraska Wesleyan is a very good offensive team,” said Dorsey. “They are a D3 powerhouse as they won the national championship in 2018. It’s going to be a tough game for us.”
The Gents (18-11) won three games in three days on their home court last weekend to capture the SCAC Tournament title. The Prairie Wolves (23-4) won the American Rivers Conference regular-season crown but fell in overtime to Loras College in the conference tournament.
Nebraska Wesleyan, located in Lincoln, ranks No. 19 in the latest D3hoops.com Top 25 poll and is making its 18th NCAA Division III Tournament appearance. The Prairie Wolves have made five NCAA D3 Final Four appearances, finishing as the runner-up in 1997 along with the 2018 national title.
Nebraska Wesleyan averages 77 points per game. The Prairie Wolves shoot 46.1 percent from the floor with a 33.2 percent rate behind the 3-point arc, 77.9 percent from the free throw line, and defensively, the Prairie Wolves are allowing only 67.5 points per game.
The Gents average 75.1 points, give up 70.2, shoot 42.2 percent from the floor, 33.1 percent from beyond the arc, 70.5 percent at the line, and average 11.4 assists/game. Centenary is 18th nationally with a turnover margin of plus 4.4 and ranks 28th forcing 16.7 turnovers per game, while its 8.7 average on 3-pointers made is 67th nationally and the 40.9 percent field goal defense is 74th in D3.
Senior forward Seth Thomas cemented himself as one of the top players in D3 program history this year. Thomas was named first-team All-SCAC, earning all-conference honors for the fourth season. He averaged 16.2 points, 7.9 rebounds, 3.2 assists, and 2.4 steals and is the only Gent with a double-digit scoring rate.
Senior guard Tykeem Singleton sparked Centenary’s 83-76 SCAC finals win over Colorado College with a career-best 33-point outburst on 12 of 14 shooting, including making all five of his 3-pointers. He was named tournament MVP.
Senior guard AJ Hall is the other Centenary player back from the 2020 NCAA Tournament team. He was among four Gents earning honorable mention All-SCAC honors this season.
Regular-season SCAC champion Trinity (23-3), a one-point loser to Colorado College in the SCAC semis last Saturday, faces UT-Dallas (18-9) in the other regional semifinal at approximately 7:35 p.m. this evening. The winners will meet at 7:35 Saturday night.
Live stats and live video are available for Centenary’s action at the links below:
Stats: https://stats.
Video: https://www.youtube.