Junior forward Coy Zerhusen was named the Most Valuable Player and sophomore guard Josh Bell was selected to the all-tournament team as the Centre College men's basketball team defeated Heidelberg College 76-58 to win the 2004 Papa John's/Country Hearth Inn Tournament, Thursday, Dec. 30, in Danville, Ky.
Wabash College defeated LaGrange College 65-48 in the consolation game earlier in the evening. Wabash's David Wagner and LaGrange's Kyle Lefebvre were each named to the all-tournament team.
After scoring 15 points and grabbing eight rebounds the night before, Zerhusen posted his second double-double of the season scoring 10 points to go along with 11 rebounds, three assists, and three steals.
Bell followed up his 18-point performance Wednesday, with 10 points, four rebounds, four assists and two steals off the bench.
Freshman guard Matt Nestheide scored 13 points and had three steals and sophomore guard Kyle Christopher added 11 points for the Colonels in the win.
Brian Schmidt led the Student Princes with 15 points and eight rebounds off the bench. Kenny Gilbert tallied 12 points and Ron Higgins chipped in with 10 points. Schmidt and Gilbert were each named to the all-tournament team.
Centre used a 13-4 run starting at the 15:35 mark in the first half to take a 20-8 lead midway through the half. Heidelberg responded by going on a 9-2 run to pull within 22-17 with 6:15 left in the first period.
The Colonels came right back with a 14-5 run to take a 36-22 lead and would go into the intermission with a 38-25 lead.
The second half saw Centre extend the lead to as many as 27 points (60-33). The Colonels finished the game shooting 39.4% (26-66) from the field, while Heidelberg shot only 33.9% (19-56) for the game.
Centre has now won three straight and six of its last seven to improve to 9-2 on the year. Heidelberg drops to 4-7.
The Colonels will next play Tuesday, Jan. 4, when they host Berea College. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m. in Danville, Ky.
Newspaper Box Score Heidelberg College vs Centre College 12/30/04 7 pm at Danville,KY At Danville,KY CENTRE COLLEGE 76, HEIDELBERG COLLEGE 58 HEIDELBERG COLLEGE (4-7) Brian Schmidt 6-12 3-5 15; Kenny Gilbert 3-12 6-8 12; Ron Higgins 2-8 6-6 10; T.J. Johnson 1-5 3-5 5; Shawn Shriver 2-6 0-0 4; Greg Tyson 2-3 0-0 4; Matt Alexander 1-1 0-0 3; Andrew Lemmon 1-5 0-0 3; Josh Dickey 1-2 0-2 2; Scott Morrison 0-1 0-0 0; Mike Stull 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 19-56 18-26 58. CENTRE COLLEGE (9-2) Matt Nestheide 2-7 8-8 13; Kyle Christopher 3-10 3-4 11; Coy Zerhusen 4-8 2-4 10; Josh Bell 4-8 0-0 10; John Patterson 4-5 0-0 8; Thomas Britt 3-4 0-0 7; Reggie Magnusson 2-8 0-0 5; Kyle Roby 2-5 1-2 5; Matt Jacobson 2-8 0-0 5; Adam Patterson 0-2 2-2 2; Bennett Clark 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 26-66 16-20 76. Heidelberg College............ 25 33 - 58 Centre College................ 38 38 - 76 3-point goals-Heidelberg College 2-15 (Andrew Lemmon 1-3; Matt Alexander 1-1; T.J. Johnson 0-1; Shawn Shriver 0-3; Scott Morrison 0-1; Kenny Gilbert 0-6), Centre College 8-28 (Josh Bell 2-6; Kyle Christopher 2-6; Matt Nestheide 1-4; Thomas Britt 1-1; Matt Jacobson 1-3; Reggie Magnusson 1-2; Bennett Clark 0-1; Adam Patterson 0-2; Kyle Roby 0-3). Fouled out--Heidelberg College-None, Centre College-None. Rebounds-Heidelberg College 35 (Brian Schmidt 8), Centre College 46 (Coy Zerhusen 11). Assists-Heidelberg College 9 (Greg Tyson 2; Shawn Shriver 2; Kenny Gilbert 2), Centre College 15 (Josh Bell 4). Total fouls-Heidelberg College 15, Centre College 20. A-172 Championship game of the 2004 Papa John's/Country Hearth Inn Tournament. Centre wins the tournament championship. All-tournament team: Centre: Zerhusen(MVP), Bell, Heidelberg: Gilbert, Schmidt LaGrange: Kyle Lefebvre, Wabash: David Wagner