The Centre College men's basketball team avenged a Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference loss earlier in the season by defeating the Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology Engineers 70-59, Sunday, Feb. 12, in Alumni Gymnasium in Danville, Ky.
The win was the final home game for the Colonels' three seniors: Reggie Magnusson, Adam Patterson, and Coy Zerhusen. In front of a packed house in Alumni Gymnasium, the seniors did not disappoint Colonels' fans.
A mere 74 seconds into the game, Patterson knocked down a three-pointer to give the Colonels an early 3-0 lead. Sophomore Matt Nestheide buried a three as well with 17:05 left, giving Centre an early cushion. Still, the Engineers fought back. A three-point bucket by senior Munchie Muskeyvalley cut the Colonels' lead to 18-17 with 8:57. However, with 2:53 left in the first half, Engineers coach Jim Shaw picked up back-to-back technical fouls, leading to four straight made free throws by Centre's Nestheide and resulting in the coach's ejection from the court. The Colonels took advantage and carried a 35-29 lead into halftime.
The Centre seniors again put on a show in the second half. Less than three minutes in, Magnusson was fouled while connecting on a lay-up. The ensuing free throw gave the Colonels a 45-33 lead. Patterson soon after connected with his second three-pointer of the game, increasing the lead to 48-33, the Colonels' largest lead of the game. The Engineers, however, would not go away. A lay-up by David Yaraschefski cut the Colonels' lead to five points with 10:15 remaining, but the Engineers would get no closer. Back-to-back three-pointers by junior Matt Jacobson and sophomore Thomas Britt gave the Colonels an eleven-point padding. With 0:22 left in the game, Centre head coach Greg Mason pulled his three seniors from the floor, resulting in an uproar of applause from the Alumni Gymnasium crowd.
Centre was led by Magnusson's 15 points. Both Magnusson and Zerhuson led the Colonels with seven rebounds, while the team was able to force eight Rose-Hulman turnovers. Patterson (10), Nestheide (11), and Britt (14) also scored in double figures for the Colonels. The Engineers, meanwhile, were led by Brennan Dunville's 14 points on 7 of 11 shooting, while Muskeyvalley also added 13 points in the defeat. With the win, the Colonels improved to 8-4 in SCAC play and 16-6 overall. Rose-Hulman fell to 7-6 in conference play and 12-11 overall.
Centre's men will travel to Georgetown, Texas, next week for a rematch with Southwestern University. The SCAC match-up is set to tip-off at 8:00 p.m. CST, Friday, Feb. 17.
Newspaper Box Score Rose-Hulman vs Centre College 2/12/06 1:00 pm at Danville, KY At Danville, KY CENTRE COLLEGE 70, ROSE-HULMAN 59 ROSE-HULMAN (11-12, 7-6 SCAC) Brennan Dunville 7-11 0-2 14; Munchie Muskeyvalley 4-16 2-2 13; Lorenzo Rice 4-11 4-5 12; Jason Bednarko 4-6 0-0 10; David Yaraschefski 3-6 0-0 6; Shane McCue 1-2 0-0 2; Jared Moore 1-2 0-0 2; Nathan Hedrick 0-0 0-0 0; Ron George 0-1 0-0 0; Phil Sundling 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 24-55 6-9 59. CENTRE COLLEGE (16-6, 8-4 SCAC) Reggie Magnusson 5-13 5-5 15; Thomas Britt 4-6 4-6 14; Matt Nestheide 2-6 6-6 11; Adam Patterson 3-4 1-3 10; Matt Jacobson 4-7 0-1 9; T.C. Thomason 3-6 1-2 7; Coy Zerhusen 0-5 4-4 4; John Patterson 0-2 0-2 0; Stuart Rutledge 0-0 0-0 0; Rob Matthews 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 21-49 21-29 70. Rose-Hulman................... 29 30 - 59 Centre College................ 35 35 - 70 3-point goals-Rose-Hulman 5-16 (Munchie Muskeyvalley 3-9; Jason Bednarko 2-3; Jared Moore 0-1; Lorenzo Rice 0-3), Centre College 7-18 (Adam Patterson 3-4; Thomas Britt 2-3; Matt Jacobson 1-3; Matt Nestheide 1-4; Coy Zerhusen 0-1; T.C. Thomason 0-1; Reggie Magnusson 0-2). Fouled out--Rose-Hulman-Brennan Dunville, Centre College-None. Rebounds-Rose-Hulman 30 (Lorenzo Rice 10), Centre College 34 (Reggie Magnusson 7; Coy Zerhusen 7). Assists-Rose-Hulman 8 (Munchie Muskeyvalley 4), Centre College 14 (Matt Nestheide 4). Total fouls-Rose-Hulman 21, Centre College 15. A-956 Today is Senior Day.