By PATRICK MEEHAN, Centenary Assistant AD for Strategic Communications
J.A. Anglin’s highly-anticipated second season in charge of the Centenary men’s basketball team opens officially on Friday against Belhaven at 6 p.m. in Jackson, Miss.
Centenary, set to play 25 regular-season games, fell 96-61 to ULM in an exhibition contest last Wednesday in Monroe.
Centenary will play one more exhibition game against the Lamar Cardinals next Wednesday, Nov. 11 in Beaumont, Texas. The Gents then face Millsaps College on the road on Friday, Nov. 13 in Jackson, Miss.
The Gents’ home opener is Tuesday, Nov. 17 against East Texas Baptist University at 7 o’clock in the Gold Dome.
WOMEN’S BASKETBALL: The Ladies will prep for their regular season with an exhibition contest against ULM in Monroe on Thursday evening. Centenary will play 24 regular-season games beginning next Monday, Nov. 9 against Jarvis Christian College in the Gold Dome at 6:30.
Rennie Bailey’s second Ladies team will play its first four games of the season at home as the season opener is followed by non-conference contests against East Texas Baptist (Nov. 14), Mississippi University for Women (Nov. 19), and Dallas Christian College (Nov. 23).
VOLLEYBALL: The Ladies (1-18, 0-12 Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference) will face LeTourneau in their season finale on Saturday and Senior Day at 1 o’clock in the Gold Dome.
Centenary went winless on the road last weekend, falling 3-1 to Ozarks and 3-0 to Hendrix.
SWIMMING: The Ladies and Gents earned a combined team score of 243 points to finish fifth in the 58th Annual Hendrix Classic last Saturday in Conway, Ark.
Senior Hannah Waddell, a former Caddo Magnet High star, recorded a trio of third-place finishes, placing third in the 200-yard backstroke (2:22.78), 200 breast (2:33.44), and the 200 IM (2:19.37).
FOOTBALL: The Gents’ last-second comeback attempt fell two yards short as they lost 43-36 to Lyon College in a Halloween night SCAC contest on Senior Night at Atkins Field.
The Gents (2-4, 1-1 SCAC) staged a furious rally against the Scots after falling behind 19-0 after one quarter of play and 29-7 at halftime. Centenary eventually tied the game at 36-36 with 6:29 remaining to cap a 29-7 scoring run of its own. Lyon, though, scored a go-ahead touchdown with 4:23 left to take the seven-point lead.
Facing fourth-and-10 at his own 40 with just nine seconds remaining, freshman quarterback Stephen George heaved a bomb to sophomore receiver Theo Dunn, who caught the ball after it was tipped and tried to outrun a Lyon defender but was tackled at the 2-yard line as time expired.
George had a sensational all-around offensive performance as he passed for a season-best 257 yards and rushed for a season-high 122 yards. George completed 16-27 passes for two touchdowns with no interceptions and also ran for a pair of TDs. He set season highs in completions, rushing attempts, and TDs both on the ground and through the air to finish with a season-high 379 yards of total offense. George also scored on a two-point conversion rush that tied the game at 36-26 late in the fourth quarter.
The Gents finish their regular season on Saturday against Texas Lutheran in Seguin, Texas with kickoff set for 2 p.m. at Bulldog Stadium.
WOMEN’S SOCCER: The Ladies were edged 2-1 in their season finale by the Ozarks on Sunday afternoon in a league contest at Atkins Field.
The Ladies finish 2-11-2 overall and 0-6-2 in league play. Senior midfielder Sarah Crenshaw was fouled in the box and converted a penalty kick for the Ladies to make it 2-1 in the 81st minute. Sophomore goalkeeper Morgan Stancliff went the distance in the net and made seven saves.
MEN’S SOCCER: The Gents wrapped up their season by notching their first conference victory, edging Ozarks Eagles 3-2 on Sunday at home.
The Gents (4-11, 1-8 SCAC) scored three first-half goals against the Eagles (6-8-4, 1-7-1 SCAC) to avoid a winless conference campaign and finished 4-4 at home this season.
Junior Andres Osorio made 10 saves in his 90 minutes of action, including several spectacular ones. His final save with four seconds remaining in the match on a free kick from Tristan Silence sealed the win. Senior forward Fernando Santos, senior defender Harvey Butcher, and senior defender Hayden McConnell each scored goals for the Gents.
LAGNIAPPE: Centenary Athletics recognized its two members of the Strategic Communications department, Brayden Reeves and I, as it celebrates College Sports Communicators Membership Appreciation Week.
Because I get asked: this is my eighth year as Assistant Athletic Director for Strategic Communications after coming on board with Centenary Athletics on August 5, 2019.
My job is fun and fast-moving. I am the editor and writer for all content on the athletics web site and social media channels, updates and maintains record books, nominates for various academic and athletic awards, handles statistical input for various sports, and if you don’t know me, you may know my voice, because I am the primary public address announcer and broadcaster for the department.
Contact Patrick at pmeehan@centenary.edu