Playing in its first game of the 2006-07 season, the Centre College men\'s basketball team got off to strong start defeating the University of Virginia-Wise 84-60 on the first day of the Pepsi/Sodexho Invitation Tournament, hosted by Berea College, Friday, Nov. 17, in Berea, Ky.
The Colonels, which have now won their season-opening game in six consecutive seasons, start the season 1-0, while Virginia-Wise falls to 1-3 in the early going.
The first half saw Centre shoot the ball extremely well making 17 of its 27 shots (63.0%), including eight of 13 (61.5%) from long range, to take a 47-31 lead into the intermission. The Cavaliers were limited to 43.8% (14-32) and did not make a three-point shot the entire half.
The Colonels continued to shoot the ball well in the second half making 11 of 20 overall and five of eight from beyond the three-point arc, while holding Virginia-Wise to only 32.0% (8-25) shooting.
Senior forward Matt Jacobson led four Colonels in double figures with 18 points on six of nine shooting from the floor. Jacobson also made four of his six three-point attempts to go along with four rebounds, three assists and a steal.
Senior center John Patterson posted Centre\'s first double-double of the season scoring 12 points and grabbing a game-high 15 rebounds in just over 32 minutes of action.
Junior guard Matt Nestheide and sophomore forward T.C. Thomason also finished in double-figures. Nestheide scored 14 points and had seven assists, while Thomason scored 12 points in his first start in a Centre uniform.
Zydrunas Rackauskas led all scorers with 24 points for the Cavaliers. Rackauskas also pulled down a team-high 13 rebounds in the loss. Jarred Soles was the only other player in double figures for Virginia-Wise, scoring 15 points.
Centre will be back in action, Saturday, Nov. 18, when they face the host, Berea, in the championship game of the Pepsi/Sodexho Invitational Tournament at 3 p.m. in Berea, Ky.
Newspaper Box Score Centre College vs Berea College 11/18/06 3:00 p.m. at Seabury Centre, Berea, Ky. At Seabury Centre, Berea, Ky. CENTRE COLLEGE 82, BEREA COLLEGE 66 CENTRE COLLEGE (2-0) Matt Nestheide 6-11 12-15 26; T.C. Thomason 6-10 0-0 13; Danny Noll 5-11 0-0 11; Ryan Crowdis 1-3 8-12 10; John Patterson 2-5 2-3 6; Matt Jacobson 3-12 0-2 6; Ross Herman 1-1 3-5 5; Beau Braden 2-4 0-0 4; Kameron McRay 0-0 1-2 1; Thomas Britt 0-0 0-0 0; Kyle Christopher 0-1 0-0 0; Rob Matthews 0-0 0-0 0; Stuart Rutledge 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 26-58 26-39 82. BEREA COLLEGE (3-2) Melvin Brown 7-16 3-4 17; Cody Hornsby 6-8 0-0 13; Thomas Klimas 3-7 5-13 11; Jordan Samuels 3-9 0-0 8; Mikah Turner 2-5 0-0 6; Josh Mallory 2-5 0-0 5; Adam Kirby 1-3 0-0 2; Chalres Wandera 1-3 0-0 2; Pat Elliot 1-5 0-0 2; Ryan Hudson 0-1 0-0 0; Brandon Peterson 0-0 0-0 0; Donnie Hunley 0-0 0-0 0; Chris Wilson 0-4 0-0 0. Totals 26-66 8-17 66. Centre College................ 36 46 - 82 Berea College................. 41 25 - 66 3-point goals-Centre College 4-16 (Matt Nestheide 2-5; Danny Noll 1-4; T.C. Thomason 1-1; Matt Jacobson 0-5; Ryan Crowdis 0-1), Berea College 6-22 (Mikah Turner 2-4; Jordan Samuels 2-6; Cody Hornsby 1-3; Josh Mallory 1-3; Pat Elliot 0-1; Chris Wilson 0-3; Adam Kirby 0-1; Melvin Brown 0-1). Fouled out--Centre College-None, Berea College-Mikah Turner; Cody Hornsby. Rebounds-Centre College 40 (T.C. Thomason 7), Berea College 45 (Thomas Klimas 10). Assists-Centre College 10 (Ryan Crowdis 5), Berea College 9 (Melvin Brown 4). Total fouls-Centre College 12, Berea College 26. Championship game of the Pepsi/Sodexho Invitational Tournament.