Two days after having its 10-game winning streak snapped, the Centre College men's basketball team rebounded for a 77-52 win over Rhodes College in a Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC) game, Sunday, Jan. 28, in Memphis, Tenn.
The Colonels, which have now won at least 15 games in a season for the sixth consecutive season, improve to 15-4 overall and 7-2 in the SCAC, while Rhodes falls to 7-11 overall and 2-7 in league play.
With Centre ahead 13-11 and 10:18 on the clock, the Colonels took control of the game out-scoring the Lynx 29-4 over the next 8:26 to take a 42-15 lead. Senior forward Matt Jacobson and sophomore forward T.C. Thomason combined to score 19 of the 29 points in the run.
Jacobson hit two three-pointers and two jumpers for 10 points while Thomason connected on four jumpers, including one three-pointer for nine points to give Centre a commanding 43-18 lead at the break. The Colonels limited Rhodes to only 17.1% (6-35) from the field, while shooting 53.1% (17-32) for the 25-point lead.
The second half was all Centre, as the Colonels pushed the lead to as many as 31 points (70-39) before finishing the game with a 25-point victory. Centre shot well in the second half as well making 15-29 shots (51.7%) to finish the game shooting 52.5% (32-61).
Jacobson and Thomason finished as the only two Colonels in double figures. Jacobson scored a team-high 14 points and grabbed four rebounds while Thomason added 12 points and four rebounds in the win.
Rhodes' Cory Smith led the Lynx with a game-high 19 points. He also grabbed a game-high eight rebounds. Jeff Blumenthal added nine points and four rebounds off the bench in the defeat.
Next up for Centre is a rematch with DePauw University, Saturday, Feb. 3. The Colonels fell 73-67 to the Tigers in Greencastle earlier in the season. The SCAC contest will be played as part of a men's/women's doubleheader and will start at 3 p.m. in Danville, Ky.
Newspaper Box Score Centre College vs Rhodes College 01/28/07 1:00 pm at Mallory Gym At Mallory Gym CENTRE COLLEGE 77, RHODES COLLEGE 52 CENTRE COLLEGE Matt Jacobson 6-14 0-1 14; T.C. Thomason 5-5 1-2 12; Stuart Rutledge 3-4 2-2 9; John Patterson 4-5 0-0 8; Thomas Britt 3-5 0-0 8; Matt Nestheide 3-7 2-2 8; Danny Noll 2-4 0-0 5; Beau Braden 2-2 0-0 4; Ross Herman 2-4 0-0 4; Kameron McRay 1-3 0-0 3; Ryan Crowdis 1-3 0-0 2; Kyle Christopher 0-1 0-0 0; Rob Matthews 0-2 0-0 0; Kris Bentley 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 32-61 5-7 77. RHODES COLLEGE Cory Smith 7-17 4-4 19; Pearson Weems 3-3 2-2 9; Reid Hamilton 3-8 0-0 6; Larry Cunningham Jr. 2-3 0-0 4; Andrew Sillyman 1-1 0-0 3; Joe Thompson 0-5 3-4 3; Jeff Blumenthal 1-5 0-0 2; Joey Daley 1-3 0-0 2; Jared Hoskins 0-7 2-2 2; Dean Shroyer 0-2 1-2 1; Peter Zanca 0-1 1-4 1; Blake Wilson 0-1 0-0 0; Chris Eberle 0-1 0-0 0; Justin Long 0-2 0-2 0; Rob Bledsoe 0-1 0-0 0; Andyshea Saberion 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 18-62 13-20 52. Centre College................ 43 34 - 77 Rhodes College................ 18 34 - 52 3-point goals-Centre College 8-24 (Matt Jacobson 2-6; Thomas Britt 2-4; Kameron McRay 1-2; T.C. Thomason 1-1; Stuart Rutledge 1-1; Danny Noll 1-3; Kyle Christopher 0-1; Rob Matthews 0-1; Kris Bentley 0-2; Matt Nestheide 0-3), Rhodes College 3-16 (Pearson Weems 1-1; Andrew Sillyman 1-1; Cory Smith 1-5; Joe Thompson 0-3; Jared Hoskins 0-3; Chris Eberle 0-1; Reid Hamilton 0-2). Fouled out--Centre College-None, Rhodes College-None. Rebounds-Centre College 41 (John Patterson 6), Rhodes College 37 (Cory Smith 8). Assists-Centre College 15 (Ryan Crowdis 3; Stuart Rutledge 3), Rhodes College 9 (Dean Shroyer 4). Total fouls-Centre College 18, Rhodes College 9.