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SHREVEPORT, LA. -- Junior guard Roman Tubner led Centenary with 30 points and the Gentlemen outscored Southern Utah 18-10 in overtime as Centenary topped the Thunderbirds in a 93-85 barnburner at the Gold Dome in Shreveport, La., Thursday night.
Tubner had the opportunity to give the Gents the victory after he was fouled by SUU sophomore forward Jake Nielson with 1.6 seconds left in regulation, but he missed the second of two free throws and the two teams headed into overtime tied at 75.
Related:
Southern Utah begins Summit League play on the road
After a disastrous loss to Utah State Saturday, the Southern Utah men's basketball team will continue its four-game road trip and begin play in The Summit League with trips to Centenary and Oral Roberts this weekend.The T-Birds (3-5, 0-1 Summit League) took an early lead in the overtime period, but last led 79-77 after freshman center Matt Hodgson made a layup with 3:38 left in overtime.
Centenary (4-2, 1-0 Summit League) responded with two quick 3-pointers by freshman guard Daman Starring and sophomore guard David Perez, which gave the Gents an 83-79 lead with 2:08 remaining in the game.
Centenary then extended its lead to as much as 92-83 with 25 seconds left before claiming its first victory in Summit League play.
The T-Birds led at halftime 38-33 and extended its lead to as much as 10 points after Nielson made a layup with 17:44 left in regulation gave SUU a 46-36 lead.
However, the Gents stormed back with a 19-2 run in the next six minutes to take a 55-48 lead with 11:01 left in regulation.
The T-Birds chipped away at the deficit until a jump shot by senior guard Davis Baker tied the game at 63 at the 4:33 mark in the second half.
SUU would then take the lead with 3:40 left in regulation after Nielson drained a free throw.
After a back-and-forth affair in the final minutes, the T-Birds led 75-74 with 6 seconds left after Nielson made one of two free throws just before the foul that sent Tubner to the free-throw stripe.
Reid said the problem in the game was the speed of the Gents, which created problems defensively.
"The problem was, we knew who exactly the shooters were and Perez and the people who can shoot (got us)," Reid said. "We were just a little bit slow getting there and when we got there, (their) guys penetrated and we let them go around us. When guys are quicker than you, you can't simulate that in practice. We tried zones; we tried man-to-man to change it up a little bit, but we (couldn't get them)."
Centenary shot 41 percent from the floor and 33 percent from long range, but also made eight more 3-pointers than the T-Birds in the game.
Four players, including Tubner, finished in double-digit figures in scoring for the Gents.
Perez finished with 15 points, while senior forward Jerrald Bonham and sophomore guard Maxx Nakwaasah ended with 12 and 10 points respectively for Centenary.
Senior guard Davis Baker led SUU with a career-high 34 points in the loss; Baker dropped in 25 points in the second half and overtime periods.
Baker also grabbed nine rebounds, which matched his career-best in that category.
Nielson added 20 points, nine rebounds and five steals for the T-Birds, while sophomore forward Matt Massey collected 13 points; however both Nielson and Massey fouled out of the game. Junior guard Ryan Brimley also fouled out of the game for SUU.
The T-Birds committed a season-high 33 fouls in the game and allowed the Gents to shoot in the bonus for the final 15 minutes of regular and the entire overtime.
SUU, which is currently mired in a three-game losing streak, will look to rebound at Oral Roberts Saturday.
Tip-off against the Golden Eagles is slated for 7:05 p.m. in Tulsa, Okla. on Saturday.
