Colonels fall in championship of MSJ Tip-Off Tournament

The Centre men's basketball team led early on, but was unable to withstand a second half run by Mount St. Joseph, falling 55-49 to the host school in the championship of the Mount St. Joseph Tip-Off Classic on Saturday in Cincinnati, Ohio.

The Colonels led throughout the first half and early in the second, but Mount St. Joseph took control with a 16-2 run that turned a 30-25 Centre lead into a 41-32 hole. Clifford Cass and David Mann each scored eight points for Mount St. Joseph during the stretch that saw Centre make just one field goal over a span of 11 minutes.

Mount St. Joseph extended the lead as high as 11 points at 45-34. Centre would twice cut the margin back down to six points only to see Mount St. Joseph extend it back to 10 from the free throw line both times.

It was an unfortunate ending for the Colonels, who jumped out to a 17-6 lead at the 11:55 mark of the first half when Collin Lopez (Louisville, Ky.) scored seven of his team-high 12 points during a 12-2 run. However, Mount St. Joseph came right back with a 10-0 run of its own, and the game remained tight until halftime where Centre held a 28-25 lead.

Matt Griggs (Cincinnati, Ohio) followed Lopez in the scoring column for Centre with nine points while Josh Karsner (Frankfort, Ky.) added eight with a team-high eight rebounds. Greg Ross also scored eight points and was named to the all-tournament team after a 25-point performance Friday. Mount St. Joseph's Mann led all scorers with 25 points.

Mount St. Joseph shot 47.5 percent (19-of-40) from the field to Centre's 38.6 (17-of-44), though Centre was 7-of-22 from 3-point range to Mount St. Joseph's 2-of-12 performance. Centre held a 30-26 edge on the glass.

With the loss, Centre's record drops to 2-1 on the year. The Colonels return to action Tuesday at Transylvania.