After win the season's first match-up between the two teams, the Centre College men's basketball team could not complete the season sweep, falling to Trinity University 70-65, in a Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference game, Sunday, Feb. 19, in San Antonio, Texas.
The loss drops the Colonels record to 17-7 overall and 9-5 in the SCAC, while Trinity moves to 20-5 overall and 12-2 in league play. The game was the final regular-season game for both teams.
The first half was closely played as neither team led by more than five points until a Trinity three-pointer at the 2:21 mark gave the Tigers a 32-26 lead. Trinity scored the next four points to push the lead to 10 points before sophomore guard Matt Nestheide buried a three-pointer to end the half and pull the Colonels with seven points at 36-29.
After senior forward Coy Zerhusen made a lay-up for the first points of the second half, Trinity went on an 11-2 run to extend its lead to 47-33 with 15:15 to play. Centre scored the next seven points to close the gap to seven points (47-40) only to see Trinity outscore the Colonels 9-3 over the next 6:02 to take a 56-43 lead with only 6:03 on the clock.
Trailing 62-51 at the 3:40 mark, the Colonels used an 11-4 run to make the scored 66-62 with just under a minute to play. After two Trinity free throws pushed the lead to six points (68-62), junior forward Matt Jacobson was fouled on a three-point attempt and made all three free throws to cut the lead to 68-65 with 0:14 remaining.
The Colonels would get no closer, as the Tigers would hit two free throws to push the lead back to five points and hold on for the 70-65 victory.
Trinity's Andy Bates led all scorers with 23 points on 9 of 15 shooting, including 3 of 6 from the three-point line. Brandon York was the only other Tiger to finish in double-figures, scoring 13 points off the bench in only 17 minutes of action.
Nestheide paced Centre with 21 points on 7 of 13 shooting. The sophomore guard connected on six of his 11 three-point attempts, while adding three assists and two steals in 38 minutes. Jacobson finished with 11 points and six rebounds, while Zerhusen added eight points and seven rebounds in the loss.
Senior center Reggie Magnusson moved into 19th place all-time in Centre men's basketball history in career points, notching 13 points and a game-high nine rebounds. Magnusson moved ahead of current Centre head coach Greg Mason with 1,094 career points. He will move into 18th place with his next two points.
By finishing 9-5 in conference play, Centre qualified for the SCAC Tournament as the #3 seed. The Colonels will square off against #6 seeded Millsaps College, Friday, Feb. 24 at 3:00 p.m. CST in Memphis, Tenn. Millsaps won the only meeting between the two teams earlier this season defeating Centre 59-56, February 3, in Danville, Ky.
Newspaper Box Score Centre College vs Trinity University 02/19/06 12:00 P.M. at Trinity University, Sams Gymnasium At Trinity University, Sams Gymnasium TRINITY UNIVERSITY 70, CENTRE COLLEGE 65 CENTRE COLLEGE (17-7, 9-5) Matt Nestheide 7-13 1-2 21; Reggie Magnusson 6-9 1-1 13; Matt Jacobson 2-6 5-5 11; Coy Zerhusen 3-9 2-2 8; Thomas Britt 2-11 2-2 6; John Patterson 1-3 1-2 3; Rob Matthews 1-2 0-0 3; T.C. Thomason 0-3 0-0 0; Adam Patterson 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 22-58 12-14 65. TRINITY UNIVERSITY (20-5, 12-2) Andy Bates 9-15 2-4 23; Brandon York 3-3 6-8 13; Ross Burt 3-9 2-2 9; Jay Riola 4-9 0-0 9; James Lake 2-9 2-2 7; Mitch Walker 1-3 0-0 3; Casey Hill 1-3 0-0 3; Mike Gilb 1-2 1-2 3; Barrett Koch 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 24-53 13-18 70. Centre College................ 29 36 - 65 Trinity University............ 36 34 - 70 3-point goals-Centre College 9-22 (Matt Nestheide 6-11; Matt Jacobson 2-4; Rob Matthews 1-1; Thomas Britt 0-3; T.C. Thomason 0-1; Adam Patterson 0-1; Reggie Magnusson 0-1), Trinity University 9-20 (Andy Bates 3-6; Ross Burt 1-2; Brandon York 1-1; Mitch Walker 1-2; James Lake 1-6; Jay Riola 1-1; Casey Hill 1-2). Fouled out--Centre College-None, Trinity University-None. Rebounds-Centre College 36 (Reggie Magnusson 9), Trinity University 33 (Ross Burt 6; James Lake 6). Assists-Centre College 14 (Matt Jacobson 5), Trinity University 14 (Mitch Walker 3; Jay Riola 3). Total fouls-Centre College 16, Trinity University 13. A-400