CONWAY, Ark. - After an impressive double-digit rout of former conference rival Dallas on Thursday, Hendrix looked to open the 2018 SCAC/SAA Challenge in winning fashion Saturday with a meeting against Centenary (La.) and that's exactly what the home team did. Freshman Carl Fitch banked in the go-ahead, eventual game-winning basket with 25.1 seconds left and was fouled. Following the missed free throw, sophomore Kam Brasfield came up with two steals in the final 23 seconds to allow the Warriors to hold off the Gents, 64-62, in front of nearly 200 fans Saturday night. Hendrix improves to 2-1 on the year and 2-0 inside the confines of Grove Gymnasium.

THE BASICS
Score:  Centenary (La.) 62, Hendrix 64
Records: Gents (0-2) | Warriors (2-1)
Location | Time: Conway, Ark. 7:00 PM
Get Social: Twitter | @HendrixWarriors | @HCscoreboard 
Up Next: vs Austin College 5 PM (2018 SCAC/SAA Challenge) | Grove Gymnasium

TURNING POINT
After not allowing a single foul for over 13 minutes into the second half, Hendrix netted a quick 5-0 run over the next four-plus minutes to take a seven-point lead with 5:46 left on the clock.

OF NOTE
- Leading 55-48, Centenary (La.) carved up a 5-2 run to trail by five with 3:51 left.
- Brasfield managed to score a bucket in the paint to put the home team up by three with 1:50 to go.
- After a called timeout, the Gents managed a truly executed play; nailing a three-pointer from deep to tie up the game with 1:18 left.
- Following a Warrior timeout, junior Jacob Link found Fitch near the basket as the freshman laid the ball up and in and was fouled.
- Brasfield came up with two defensive stops in the final 23 seconds en route to a 64-62 victory for the Warriors to improve to a season-best two-game winning streak.
- Freshman Sean Coman netted a game-high 18 points on an impressive 7-of-9 shooting from the floor including 3-of-5 from beyond-the-arc.
- Brasfield and freshman Seth Stanley combined for 25 points and seven boards and also 10-of-19 from the floor.
- Freshman Jake Riding added six points and six boards in 24 minutes of work while Fitch added eight points and five boards and a big block.
- Hendrix tallied a total of 35 bench points while the Gents just had 14. The Warriors also made the Gents turn the ball over 22 times.
- The Warriors shot an efficient 23-of-46 (50.0%) from the floor and 12-of-25 (48.0%) from the charity stripe while the road team shot 23-of-49 (46.9%) from the floor and 8-of-10 (80.0%) from the free throw line.

WHAT WAS SAID
"I thought we really made a statement, defensively, tonight," stated Head Coach Thad McCracken following the impressive non-conference win Saturday night." I thought we guarded incredibly well and I thought we rebounded incredibly well. I thought we took care of the ball with their pressure but did not get the shots we wanted. We were able to rely on our defense and let that be the difference in the ball game. . Kam fought back after missing two free throws to get a couple of big defensive stops in the last few seconds. Centenary is a really good team; they're long and athletic and young. I thought when it was all said and done, our guys played great, physical defense that we preach day-in, day-out."

WHO'S NEXT
With one game complete in the weekend-long tournament, Hendrix will face Austin College at 5 p.m. Sunday in the final contest in the 2018 SCAC/SAA Challenge. All games for the 2018 SCAC/SAA Challenge will be broadcasted for viewers and listeners by NBA veteran and former Arkansas Razorback star Ronnie Brewer; listen live here.