Men's Hoops Opens SCAC Play with Victory

SHERMAN, Texas - Kidus Getenet notched a new career-high for the second straight game and the Austin College men's basketball team ran its win streak to five games with a 74-65 victory over Centenary College on Friday, bringing the 'Roos to 5-3 overall and 1-0 in Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference play.

Getenet scored 26 points for the 'Roos, one game after setting a career best of 25 points against Hendrix. The sophomore guard hit his first seven shots from the field and finished 10-of-13 overall, including 3-of-5 from deep and 3-of-3 from the free throw line, and Tristan Dick provided 14 points on 6-of-10 shooting off the bench to help Austin College top the Gents. Centenary's Seth Thomas scored the first nine points of the game for the Gents as they built a 9-2 lead early, but Austin College responded with a 13-2 run to make it 15-11 midway through the opening half. Austin College continued to pad their lead, ultimately going into halftime leading 37-26 after Jackson Rennie hit a jumper with eight seconds left before the break.

Austin College stayed hot to open the second half, opening with a 9-0 run capped by a triple from Joshua Joe to make it 46-26 with 17:54 left, and after the Gents scored the next five Getenet scored on back-to-back trips to push the 'Roo lead to 50-31 with 15:53 remaining. Centenary started to chip away at the deficit, using a 24-8 run to cut it to 58-55 with six and a half minutes on the clock. Getenet answered with a layup and a three pointer to put the 'Roos on top 63-57, and after the Gents got it to a 63-60 game, Dick finished an alley-oop dunk and would score the next five for Austin College as the 'Roos went ahead 68-60 with 2:19 left. Getenet's step-back three with 59 seconds left made it a 71-63 game, and Austin College would hold on for the win in the game's closing moments.

Jordan Hudgins grabbed a team-best eight rebounds and dished out four assists, and Nate Williams chipped in seven points, six boards, and four assists. Rennie added seven points and Price Bradley matched Hudgins and Williams for the team lead with four assists. Thomas finished with 20 points and six rebounds to lead Centenary. Austin College is back in action on Saturday, as they host the University of St. Thomas at 4:00 p.m.