Junior center Reggie Magnusson scored a game-high 21 points and the Centre College men's basketball team won its season opener defeating Emory & Henry College 72-54, Friday, Nov. 19, in Sewanee, Tenn.
The game was part of the Sewanee Lon Varnell Classic, hosted by the University of the South.
Magnusson, the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference Newcomer-of-the-Year last year, picked up where he left off scoring 21 points on 6 of 12 shooting from the floor and 9 of 10 from the charity stripe.
Freshman guard Matt Nestheide scored 13 points and a team-high seven rebounds in his college debut and sophomore forward Matt Jacobson chipped in with 12 points. Nestheide also had a game-high three steals.
Hank Luton led Emory & Henry with 10 points. Will Schwartzstein had a game-high eight rebounds in the loss.
The Colonels only shot 27.6% (8-29) in the first half but were able to take a 29-21 lead into halftime. Centre then made 13 of 22 (59.1%) of its shots in the second half to pull away for the win.
The Colonels shot 41.2% (21-51) for the game, while Emory & Henry shot 36.6% (19-52).
Centre will be back in action Saturday, Nov. 20, when they play Rust College in the second day of the Classic. Tip-off is set for 1 p.m.