The Centre College men hope to keep their momentum going, while the Centre women hope a tough early schedule pays of as the Colonels hit the road for their first conference weekend of the new year.
Centre plays at Millsaps tonight, then plays at Birmingham-Southern on Sunday.
Both Centre teams are 1-0 in the Southern Athletic Association, having posted wins at Sewanee on Dec. 1 in their conference openers.
The Centre men (7-2) have won five straight games going into tonight’s game against the Majors (2-9, 0-1 SAA), and coach Greg Mason has been pleased how his team has played after starting the season 2-2.
“This is a young team, we’re battling injuries and every day someone has to step up and so far, we’ve been doing a good job of that,”¿Mason said. “Our first six games all came down to the last 10 seconds of the game, and here recently we’ve had three games where we’ve had a chance to learn about ourselves. It’s a work in progress, but the guys are working hard.”
Mason said injuries to key players Collin Lopez, Tyler Wesley and Blake Scinta during the season have made the Colonels switch up how they play and practice, but Mason said his team has adjusted well.
“Every game is different as how we’re going to score, and every practice is different,”¿Mason said. “But I told the guys that defense and rebounding keeps you in games. That’s what we’ve been doing a good job of. We’re holding teams to 38 percent shooting and we’re plus-five in rebounding. Those two stats will keep you in every single game.”
Mason said sophomore Josh Karsner, who is averaging 14.7 points per game and is shooting 55 percent from 3-point range (28 of 51), has really stepped up to lead the Centre offense.
“Josh last year play a lot off of Greg Ross. This year, he’s really done a really good job of catching and shooting,”¿Mason said. “And Bryon Ellis (8.2 ppg) has taken a lot of really tough 3s. he’s been shooting it well, and hitting timely shots, timely 3-pointers.”
Mason said his team will have a tough challenge this weekend.
“Millsaps lost four games on last-second shots, so they’re record is deceiving. The could be .500 right now,”¿Mason said. “They play as hard as anybody we play. We’re undersized, so we have to play hard.”
Birmingham-Southern comes in 7-3 and 1-0 in league play.
“They are all seniors this year. They were a unanimous pick to win the league and were preseason 11th in the country,”¿Mason said. “They have lost a couple, but they play one of the toughest schedules in the country.”
The Centre women have dropped three straight games are 3-8 going into the weekend. But coach Wendie-Austin Robinson points out those losses have come against a challenging schedule, and will ultimately help her team.
“It came out on the NCAA page that we have played the third-hardest schedule in the nation. That has helped us prepare for our conference season,”¿Austin-Robinson said. “But I’m very proud of the girls. We’ve definitely had to compete and play at a high level, and hopefully that will get us ready for conference. And we’re still fighting the injury bug and we’re still having to adjust to different positions on the floor and more minutes on the floor.”
“We’re not worried about the wins and losses, we’re just trying to get better every day. They’re doing everything Tom (Campbell) and I ask of them and competing hard every day.”
One highlight for the Colonels has been the play of Paige Baechle. The junior forward won her second SAA¿Player of the Week honor this week after getting her sixth and seventh double-doubles of the season in the Huntingdon Classic last weekend. She averaged 24 points and 13 rebounds in the games, while going 20 of 40 from the floor.
Baechle has reached double figures in all 11 games and is averaging 18.5 points and 9.98 rebounds per contest, both third in the conference.
Austin-Robinson said the Colonels will be facing two similar teams in Millsaps (4-7, 1-0) and Birmingham-Southern (4-7, 0-1).
“They’re big. We’re going to have to do a good job of guarding the post game,”¿she sad. “It’s always tough on the road in conference. We’ll have to make a few adjustments in guarding the posts. But we can’t let them get on a roll.
“And Birmingham-Southern runs that Princeton offense, and we can’t get caught (watching it). But we have been successful guarding it.”
Centre plays at Millsaps tonight, then plays at Birmingham-Southern on Sunday.
Both Centre teams are 1-0 in the Southern Athletic Association, having posted wins at Sewanee on Dec. 1 in their conference openers.
The Centre men (7-2) have won five straight games going into tonight’s game against the Majors (2-9, 0-1 SAA), and coach Greg Mason has been pleased how his team has played after starting the season 2-2.
“This is a young team, we’re battling injuries and every day someone has to step up and so far, we’ve been doing a good job of that,”¿Mason said. “Our first six games all came down to the last 10 seconds of the game, and here recently we’ve had three games where we’ve had a chance to learn about ourselves. It’s a work in progress, but the guys are working hard.”
Mason said injuries to key players Collin Lopez, Tyler Wesley and Blake Scinta during the season have made the Colonels switch up how they play and practice, but Mason said his team has adjusted well.
“Every game is different as how we’re going to score, and every practice is different,”¿Mason said. “But I told the guys that defense and rebounding keeps you in games. That’s what we’ve been doing a good job of. We’re holding teams to 38 percent shooting and we’re plus-five in rebounding. Those two stats will keep you in every single game.”
Mason said sophomore Josh Karsner, who is averaging 14.7 points per game and is shooting 55 percent from 3-point range (28 of 51), has really stepped up to lead the Centre offense.
“Josh last year play a lot off of Greg Ross. This year, he’s really done a really good job of catching and shooting,”¿Mason said. “And Bryon Ellis (8.2 ppg) has taken a lot of really tough 3s. he’s been shooting it well, and hitting timely shots, timely 3-pointers.”
Mason said his team will have a tough challenge this weekend.
“Millsaps lost four games on last-second shots, so they’re record is deceiving. The could be .500 right now,”¿Mason said. “They play as hard as anybody we play. We’re undersized, so we have to play hard.”
Birmingham-Southern comes in 7-3 and 1-0 in league play.
“They are all seniors this year. They were a unanimous pick to win the league and were preseason 11th in the country,”¿Mason said. “They have lost a couple, but they play one of the toughest schedules in the country.”
The Centre women have dropped three straight games are 3-8 going into the weekend. But coach Wendie-Austin Robinson points out those losses have come against a challenging schedule, and will ultimately help her team.
“It came out on the NCAA page that we have played the third-hardest schedule in the nation. That has helped us prepare for our conference season,”¿Austin-Robinson said. “But I’m very proud of the girls. We’ve definitely had to compete and play at a high level, and hopefully that will get us ready for conference. And we’re still fighting the injury bug and we’re still having to adjust to different positions on the floor and more minutes on the floor.”
“We’re not worried about the wins and losses, we’re just trying to get better every day. They’re doing everything Tom (Campbell) and I ask of them and competing hard every day.”
One highlight for the Colonels has been the play of Paige Baechle. The junior forward won her second SAA¿Player of the Week honor this week after getting her sixth and seventh double-doubles of the season in the Huntingdon Classic last weekend. She averaged 24 points and 13 rebounds in the games, while going 20 of 40 from the floor.
Baechle has reached double figures in all 11 games and is averaging 18.5 points and 9.98 rebounds per contest, both third in the conference.
Austin-Robinson said the Colonels will be facing two similar teams in Millsaps (4-7, 1-0) and Birmingham-Southern (4-7, 0-1).
“They’re big. We’re going to have to do a good job of guarding the post game,”¿she sad. “It’s always tough on the road in conference. We’ll have to make a few adjustments in guarding the posts. But we can’t let them get on a roll.
“And Birmingham-Southern runs that Princeton offense, and we can’t get caught (watching it). But we have been successful guarding it.”
