Noll hit two free throws with 29 seconds left to put Centre ahead 76-75. Andrew King's free throws gave Hendrix (17-10) a 77-76 lead with 14 seconds to play, but Gowers was fouled by Cal Rose and nailed both foul shots to send Centre to the title game.
Women
Oglethorpe 71, Centre 51 -Â The Colonels played Oglethorpe down to the wire in their regular season finale a week ago.
But the top-seeded Stormy Petrels (24-3) jumped on Centre (18-9) early in their SCAC semifnal, leading 20-7 eight minutes into the game, 36-24 at the half and rolling to a 20-point victory.
"It just wasn't our day today. It's been a great tournament for us, but we struggled a little today shooting-wise," Centre coach Wendie Austin-Robinson said. "But the girls had a great effort. It was nice to be here, we haven't been to the semifinals since the first year of the tournament in 2003."
Chelsea Goodman was the only Colonel in double figures with 15 points, going 3-for-9 from the floor and 9-for-10 at the free throw line. She also scored her 1,000th point in the game and was named second team All-SCAC
Lauren Hauter had six points and nine rebounds and seniors Allison Denbow had six points and Rebecca Rhule added five points for Centre. Hauter was named honorable mention all-conference, and Maggie Prewitt was named newcomer of the year and was third-team All-SCAC.
Centre shot 25 percent in the first half and finished the game shooting 28.8 percent (17 of 59), hitting five of 17 3-pointers and 12 of 15 free throws. Oglethorpe was 26 of 55 shooting (47.3) and went 7-for-20 from 3-point range.
Despite the loss, Austin-Robinson was proud of the season her team had.
"It was a spectacular season. One which probably exceeded our expectations for the year. The are a fun group, a very coachable group," she said. "Rebecca and Allison have meant so much to the Centre program, for them to reap the rewards and enjoy a fun season year was special for me to seem do that."
Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference Tournaments
At Conway, Ark.
MEN
Saturday's Game
CENTRE 78, HENDRIX 77
CENTRE (22-4)
Chris Gowers 2-3 4-4 9, Kris Bentley 1-3 0-0 2, Ryan Crowdis 4-8 7-10 18, Jeff Mullaney 3-7 2-3 8, T.C. Thomason 2-4 3-6 8, Beau Braden 0-0 0- 0, Danny Noll 5-12 2-2 15, Alex Lloyd 5-7 0-0 1, Ross Herman 1-1 0-0 2, James Melloan 3-5 0-0 6. Totals 26-50 17-25 78.
HENDRIX (17-10)
Chris Goodman 0-1 0-0 0, Jason Hightower 1-1 0-0 3, Ryan Wible 5-6 4-5 15, Cal Rose 1-7 0-0 3, Andrew King 5-12, 10-13 20, Ammon Martin 0-2 0-0 0, Michael Bertrand 6-11 2-3 14, David Foley 3-7, 9-10 15, Nick Heathscott 2-4 3-6 7. Totals 23-41 28-37 77.
Halftime-Hendrix 43-26. 3-Point Goals-Centre (Gowers 1-2, Crowdis 3-6, Mullaney 0-2, Thomason 1-2, Noll 3-7), Hendrix 3-11. (Goodman 0-1, Hightower 1-1, Wible 1-1, Rose 1-5, Martin 0-1, Bertrnd 0-1, Foley 0-1). Rebounds-29 (Gowers 6), Hendrix (25 (King 7). Assists-Centre (Crowdis, Thomason 5), Hendrix 17 (Foley 5) Total Fouls-Centre 32, Hendrix 21.
Friday's Game
CENTRE 66, AUSTIN 41
AUSTIN (13-13)
Chris Sturtevant 2-10 0-0 4, Kola Alade 2-10 4-7 8, Kyle Lintelman 1-3 0-0 3, Taylor Beatty 2-6 0-0 4, Spencer Burke 0-2 1-2 1, Adam Bishop 0-3 0-0 0, Mark Foster 3-9 2-4 9, Nick Wade 0-0 0-0 0, Arron Mewbourn 3-5 0-0 7, Josh Saunders 0-1 0-0 0, Scott Straley 2-6 0-0 5, Sam Theis 0-1 0-0 0, Michael Todd 0-0 0-0 0, Justin Martin 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 15-56 7-13 41.
CENTRE (21-4)
Kris Bentley 1-5 0-0 3, Ryan Crowdis 2-7 1-2 5, T.C. Thomason 1-8 5-6 7, Danny Noll 11-16 0-0 26, Alex Lloyd 4-8 0-2 8, Kameron McRay 0-0 0-0 0, Chris Gowers 0-0 0-0 0, Alex Sterba 0-0 5-7 5, Jeff Mullaney 3-6 0-0 6, Larry Reynolds 0-0 0-0 0, Beau Braden 1-1 0-0 2, Ross Herman 0-1 2-2 2, James Melloan 1-1 0-0 2, Kyle Binder 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 24-53 13-19 66.
Halftime-Centre 24-17. 3-Point Goals-Austin 4-16 (Sturtevant 0-2, Alade 0-3, Lintelman 1-2, Bishop 0-2, Foster 1-4, Mewbourn 1-1, Saunders 0-1, Straley 1-1), Centre 5-17 (Bentley 1-4, Crowdis 0-2, Thomason 0-1, Noll 4-8, Mullaney 0-2). Fouled Out-None. Rebounds-Austin 32 (Alade 8), Centre 41 (Lloyd 11). Assists-Austin 10 (Sturtevant, Lintelman 2), Centre 11 (Crowdis 4). Total Fouls-Austin 16, Centre 12. Technical-Crowdis. A-135.
Sunday, March 1Championship
Southwestern vs. Centre, 3:30 p.m.
WOMEN
WOMEN
Saturday's Game
OGLETHORPE 71, CENTRE 51
