January 25, 2008

DANVILLE, Ky. – In a battle of the SCAC's undefeated featuring two of the top seniors in the league, Centre's Thomas Britt scored a team-high 31 points including a fade-away 3-pointer with 0.3 seconds left in regulation to send the game into overtime where the host Colonels outscored Millsaps 15-5 to pull away with a 90-80 win.

The win for Centre extended its winning streak to 15 games, while snapping a 12-game winning streak for the visiting Majors.

Britt's heroics before the buzzer in regulation and two 3s to start the overtime period overshadowed a career-tying night from the Majors' Edrick Montgomery who scored 34 points on 14-of-19 shooting and also grabbed a game-high 13 boards.

Millsaps (15-2, 7-1 SCAC) shot a stifling 56 percent in the first period and owned a 13-point first half lead with 4:48 remaining before the 14th-ranked Colonels (15-1, 7-0 SCAC) put together a 16-2 run that spanned the end of the period and 1:25 into the second half.

The Majors quickly countered the Centre run minutes later, using four blocks in four possessions on the defensive end, to retake the lead on an easy Montgomery layup with 12:18 remaining.

Millsaps held a slight lead the following 12:17 of regulation and led by three, 75-72, with 14 seconds remaining until a Majors turnover gave the Colonels the ball back.

The man of the hour for Centre after scoring 20 points in the second half, Britt hit a fade-away 3-pointer with 0.3 seconds left and several hands in his face to send the game into overtime. Matt Nestheide was credited with the assist - one of six on the night.

In the extra frame it was all Centre, with the host Colonels needing just two field goals along with 9-of-12 shooting from the charity stripe to outscore Millsaps 15-5. The Majors, who shot 56 percent in the first half and 59 percent in the second, shot a gloomy 2-of-12 in the overtime period (17 percent), including 0-for-8 from beyond the arc.

In front of a strong home crowd with 450-plus, Britt netted the first six points for Centre with a pair of 3s to open an 81-75 lead and the Colonels never looked back.

For Centre, Danny Noll (14), Nestheide (13) and T.C. Thomason all scored in double figures behind Britt's 31, while Montgomery led the Majors with 34, Rodney Rogan added 18 and Lorenzo Bailey added 13.

Millsaps will continue a tough, two-game road stretch with DePauw University on Sunday at 3 p.m. before returning home Feb. 1 to open a four-game homestand with Rhodes College. You can follow Sunday's game via live stats here or live audio by clicking here.