Having not scored a point in the game, sophomore guard Thomas Britt came through at the end knocking down the game-winning jumper with less than 10 seconds in the game to help the Centre College men's basketball team defeat #14 Hanover College 50-48 in the championship game of the 2005 Papa John's/Country Hearth Inn Tournament, in Danville, Ky.
The Colonels, now 7-3 overall, have now won the tournament the last seven years straight. Hanover falls to 7-4 on the year. Emory & Henry College won the consolation game earlier in the evening, defeating Berea College 128-114.
Hanover led for much of the first half. With the game tied at eight apiece at the 12:02 mark, the Panthers used a 9-0 run to take a 17-8 lead with 8:18 remaining in the half. Centre fought back with a 15-6 run to tie the score at 23-23 with less than two minutes left.
After sophomore guard Matt Nestheide tied the game for the sixth time in the half at 28 apiece, senior center Reggie Magnusson gave the Colonels their first lead of the contest on a tip in to end the first period.
Centre opened the second half on a 12-6 run to push the lead to 42-34 with 11:35 to play in the game. Hanover , however, answered with a 10-2 run to tie the game at 44-44. The two teams traded baskets and the score stood at 48 apiece with 0:17 remaining.
After a Centre timeout, Britt caught the ball on the left side inside the three-point arc and hit his only shot of the game. Hanover rushed the ball down the court, but a last second shot came up short to end the game.
Magnusson finished with a game-high 22 points on nine of 13 shooting. The senior center also pulled down six rebounds and was named the tournaments Most Valuable Player. Neshtheide scored nine points and senior forward Coy Zerhusen added eight points and five rebounds. Junior forward Matt Jacobson ended with a game-high 10 rebounds.
Brock Dawson was the lone Panther in double figures with 10 points. Brian Chrin scored seven and Robby Brown tied Jacobson with a game-high 10 rebounds in the loss.
For their efforts, Berea's Chris McIntyre, Emory & Henry's Korey Townsend, Hanover's Brian Chrin and Ben Lye and Centre's John Patterson were named to the all-tournament team.
Centre will next play Southwestern University, Friday, Jan. 6 in a Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference game. The game will be played as part of a men's/women's double header and will start at 8:00 p.m. in Danville, Ky.
Newspaper Box Score Hanover College vs Centre College 12/30/05 7:00 p.m. at Danville, Ky. At Danville, Ky. CENTRE COLLEGE 50, HANOVER COLLEGE 48 HANOVER COLLEGE (7-4) Dawson, Brock 2-12 5-6 10; Chrin, Brian 3-6 1-2 7; Brown, Robby 2-6 2-4 6; O'Leary, Dan 2-4 2-4 6; Minyard, Nate 3-6 0-0 6; Parker, Clint 2-7 0-0 5; Preusz, Blake 2-9 0-0 5; Talpas, Chad 1-3 0-0 3; O'Leary, Marc 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 17-55 10-16 48. CENTRE COLLEGE (7-3) Reggie Magnusson 9-13 4-5 22; Matt Nestheide 2-8 4-4 9; Coy Zerhusen 3-7 2-2 8; John Patterson 1-3 1-1 3; Kyle Christopher 0-1 2-2 2; Matt Jacobson 1-6 0-0 2; Thomas Britt 1-6 0-0 2; Rob Matthews 0-0 2-2 2; Stuart Rutledge 0-0 0-0 0; T.C. Thomason 0-0 0-0 0; Beau Braden 0-0 0-0 0; Ryan Crowdis 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 17-44 15-16 50. Hanover College............... 28 20 - 48 Centre College................ 30 20 - 50 3-point goals-Hanover College 4-18 (Talpas, Chad 1-2; Preusz, Blake 1-7; Dawson, Brock 1-5; Parker, Clint 1-3; Minyard, Nate 0-1), Centre College 1-11 (Matt Nestheide 1-4; Kyle Christopher 0-1; Matt Jacobson 0-4; Thomas Britt 0-2). Fouled out--Hanover College-None, Centre College-None. Rebounds-Hanover College 32 (Brown, Robby 10), Centre College 36 (Matt Jacobson 10). Assists-Hanover College 7 (Dawson, Brock 3), Centre College 6 (Coy Zerhusen 3). Total fouls-Hanover College 16, Centre College 15. A-562 Championship game of the 2005 Papa John's/Country Hearth Inn Tournament. Centre wins the Championship, Hanover finishes second. All-tournament team: Chris McIntyre-Berea, Korey Townsend-Emory & Henry, Brian Chrin, Ben Lye-Hanover, John Patterson-Centre, MVP Reggie Magnusson-Centre