The SU men's basketball team gave 11th-ranked Centre College a fun for its money but the Pirates lost 59=49 on Saturday (Feb. 2) night in Georgetown, TX.
The Pirates jumped out quick to a 7-2 lead but then fell behind 12-7 with 13:05 left in the opening half. The Colonels pushed their lead as high as 11 in the half but Southwestern scored the final five points of the half with Ross Hayes (Houston, TX/Clements HS) scoring the final three for a 30-24 halftime score.
In the second half, Centre quickly went up by 11 but the Pirates answered with eight-straight points with first-year Jonathan Brown (Houston, TX/Jersey Village HS) hitting a free throw to cut the score to 35-32. SU fell back by nine again but Hayes made a layup and three-pointer to pull within four with 9:14 but SU would get no closer than four the rest of the game.
Brown led the Pirates in both scoring and rebounding with nine points and nine rebounds, narrowly missing out on his first career double-double. He was 3-8 from the floor and 3-5 from the free throw line. Hayes finished with eight points and seven boards.
Junior Andrew McDonald (Austin, TX/Westwood HS) grabbed eight boards in just nine minutes of action while also pitching in four points. Sophomore guards Anthony Cox (Flower Mound, TX/Flower Mound HS) and Zach Bergstrom (La Vernia, TX/La Vernia HS) both tied for a game-high with three assists.
Southwestern held a 41-34 advantage in rebounds but turned the ball over 13 times compared to just six turnovers by the Colonels. As a team, the Pirates shot just 30.6 percent (15-49) from the floor and 20 percent (5-25) from beyond the three-point arc.
The Pirates' record falls to 8-11 overall and 4-6 in the SCAC while Centre won its 18th-straight game to move to 18-1, 10-0.
The Pirates next contest is Friday (Feb. 8) at home when they host Trinity University at 8:00 pm.
