DANVILLE, Ky. – The Millsaps men's basketball team played tough and physical on the court but was unable to control Centre's long-range shooting in the second half falling, 82-69 inside the Alumni Gymnasium on Friday.
Junior Caleb Kent recorded his sixth double-double of the season with 17 points and 11 rebounds. He also added four assists, one block and a steal on defense, while shooting 8-of-18 from the floor.
Junior Dakota Gasca recorded 14 points and four assists. He also tied a career-high seven rebounds and shot 5-of-8 from the field and 2-of-4 from beyond the arc.
Graduate TJ Hogan boasted a career-high 12 points. The guard also finished against the Colonels with four rebounds, three assists and a steal.
Senior Drew Roth (six rebounds, one assist, one steal) and junior Mack Gorton (two rebounds, one assist) both accumulated eight points. Gorton shot 4-of-4 from field goal range, while setting a season high in total points.
The Centre (12-6, 4-2 SAA) bench rallied past Millsaps (3-15, 1-4 SAA), 25-14. The Majors bettered the Colonels, 12-6 in fast break points and 17-8 in second chance points. Centre also took a 9-8 narrow lead in points off turnovers, while both teams tied, 28-28 with points inside the paint.
A Gasca layup moved the Majors ahead early in the first quarter and Ughovwa grabbed a steal after two minutes of action.
Both teams traded off points before Centre would march in front the Majors with a 12-4 lead.
After a commercial timeout, senior Nicholas Ughovwa's jumper and Kent's floater cut the deficit down to four points.
Millsaps would continue to keep up with their opponents before the Colonels built an 11-point advantage with 9:28 to go in the first half.
A Gasca layup moved the Majors ahead early in the first quarter, as Ughovwa would encounter a steal following two minutes of action.
Both teams traded off points before Center would disrupt the Majors with a 12-4 lead. After a commercial timeout, Ughovwa's jumper and Kent's floater would cut their deficit down by four points.
Millsaps would continue to keep up with their opponents before the Colonels would win by 11 points with 9:28 minutes to go.
Kent used a jumper to send the contest back down to single digits before Gasca banked a three-pointer to keep the action close.
Down 31-24, Millsaps continued to respond as Hogan knocked down a three-pointer on top of the key.
With 1:09 remaining until the end of the first half, a Centre floating jump shot boosted the hosts to another 11-point lead.
However, with eight seconds remaining before the buzzer, Kent's jumper rolled into the net and he made a free throw to make it 43-34 in favor of Centre going into halftime.
Early in the second half, Kent and Roth continued to pick up the pace for the Majors with back-to-back three-pointers to cut the contest back down to a 10-point margin.
Gasca later scored on a coast-to-coast layup and Kent followed with his own full-court layup to reduce the Colonels' scoring to 54-47.
However, Centre caught fire from beyond the arch and sank consecutive treys to extend their advantage to 71-54 with seven minutes to play.
At midcourt senior Drew Roth stole the ball and scored off a fast break dunk with 6:20 remaining.
Centre though would hold onto their lead until the end of the intermission to take down the Majors, 82-69 on Friday.
The Majors will continue conference action on Sunday against Sewanee, beginning at 3 p.m. in Sewanee, Tenn. Live video and live stats provided at gomajors.com.
To keep up to date with everything surrounding the Millsaps College men's basketball program follow the Majors on X and Instagram, like Millsaps Majors Athletics on Facebook or visit gomajors.com.
Founded in Jackson, Mississippi in 1890, Millsaps College is a national liberal arts college dedicated to academic excellence, open inquiry and free expression, the exploration of faith to inform vocation and the innovative shaping of the social, economic and cultural progress of our region. Consistently ranked as one of the best values in higher education, Millsaps has been praised by Colleges That Change Lives, The Princeton Review, Forbes Magazine, U.S. News & World Report, The John Templeton Foundation, and The Fiske Guide to Colleges.
