Five players scored in double figures Friday night as the Centre College men defeated Berea 75-59 in their first game following an 11-day layoff.
Both teams had identical field-goal shooting percentages in the first and second halves — Centre was 13 for 29, Berea was 12 for 28 in each half — but the Colonels didn’t pull away until the second half, beginning to distance themselves from the Mountaineers with about 7 minutes remaining.
“We started playing with more emotion, more energy and just had some big plays down the stretch, came up with some key stops and guarded Berea well,” Centre coach Greg Mason said.
Reserve Blake Scinta led Centre (5-2) with 14 points off the bench, though he played only 15 minutes due to a knee injury. Bryon Ellis and Donovan Whiteside added 13 points each for the Colonels, who won their third straight game.
Berea (7-6) was held well below its average of about 87 points per game. The Mountaineers were just 3 for 17 from 3-point range.
Centre hit 11 of 24 3-point tries, including six of 13 in the first half.
“You never quite know what to expect coming out of finals, but the first half we did some things well,” Mason said.
The Colonels also thrived on the inside, however, when Berea came after 3-point threats Ellis and Josh Karsner.
“Teams are really guarding Bryon and Josh, and that opened up the middle and opened up opportunities for us to penetrate and get into the lane, and we did that,” Mason said.
Tyler Wesley had his first career double-double with 12 points and 14 rebounds, including seven of Centre’s 15 offensive boards. Chris Taylor added 10 points for the Colonels, who have another 13 days off before their next game Dec. 28.
Tevin Webster scored 15 points and Koty Riley added 13 for Berea.
CENTRE 75, BEREA 59
CENTRE (5-2)
Josh Karsner 0-4 2-2 2, Tyler Wesley 5-10 2-5 12, Bryon Ellis 3-10 4-4 13, Chris Taylor 4-7 2-3 10, Donovan Whiteside 5-10 1-3 13, Calvin Cahall 0-1 0-0 0, Matt Griggs 1-2 0-0 3, Blake Scinta 5-6 1-2 14, Mike Geegan 1-1 0-0 3, Austin Sagraves 2-7 0-0 5, Matt Lohr 0-0 0-0 0, Taylor Newsome 0-0 0-2 0, Holden Hertzel 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 26-58 12-21 75.
BEREA (7-6)
Trent Maddox 3-7 1-2 8, Tevin Webster 7-10 1-2 15, Koty Riley 5-13 3-4 13, Aaron Ponder 3-10 0-0 7, Rashad Hayden 2-5 1-1 5, Bryce Carlton 1-1 0-0 3, Ryan Schnellenberger 0-2 0-0 0, Dominique Garmon 1-1 1-2 3, Tyler Huff 0-0 0-0 0, Deon Banks 2-7 1-1 5. Totals 24-56 8-12 59.
Halftime—Centre 33-29. 3-Point Goals—Centre 11-24 (Karsner 0-3, Ellis 3-9, Whiteside 2-3, Griggs 1-2, Scinta 3-4, Geegan 1-1, Sagraves 1-2), Berea 3-17 (Maddox 1-5, Webster 0-1, Riley 0-1, Ponder 1-6, Hayden 0-1, Carlton 1-1, Schnellenberger 0-2). Fouled Out—None. Rebounds—Centre 37 (Wesley 14), Berea 34 (Ponder 9). Assists—Centre 16 (Griggs 4), Berea 16 (Ponder 6). Total Fouls—Centre 12, Berea 19. A—153.
