MARSHALL, Texas – Sweeping their final two home games of the 2018 year, the East Texas Baptist University men's basketball team will finish out the first half of the season with a Saturday contest at Centenary College. This will be part of the Shreveport-Bossier City Holiday Classic that will take place at the Golden Dome.
 
Over the past two games, ETBU picked up wins over Sul Ross State University and Howard Payne University. ETBU hung onto a 73-68 victory over the Lobos with strong performances by Chris Haynes and Nathan Fontenot, who each posted 18 points. Then on Monday, the Tigers took care of business with a 92-71 win against Howard Payne. Fontenot was once again the leading scorer with 20 points while Westin Riddick added 19 of his own. Nolan Johnson (11 points) and Jarrell Taylor (10 points) would also play pivotal roles in that game with double-digit scoring. Meanwhile, Robby Dooley posted double-doubles in each contest.
 
Through seven games, Dooley remains ETBU's scoring leader at 19.1 ppg while also leading in rebounds with 49. Landin Brown still remains ETBU's lead in assists (6.2 per game) and steals (18) while Zach Elliott has nine blocks on the season to lead the way. Riddick is ETBU's top three-point shooter with 22 made so far.
 
The Tigers will head out to Shreveport, La., on Saturday as they will take on CC. ETBU last took on the Gents on November 15, 2017, and picked up an 89-81 win. That game saw Dooley post a then career-high of 23 points while Fontenot (17 points), Riddick (14 points) and Brown (10 points) would also obtain double-figures. This season, the Gents are 1-6 on the year with their lone win against Hardin-Simmons University. Treylan Matthews leads the team with 12.0 ppg while Kaharri Carter (11.7 ppg) and Ty Prince (11.3 ppg) are both tied with 7.0 rebounds per game apiece.
 
Honored to be part of the upcoming classic, head coach Brandon Curran expressed his pleasure of competing, especially against a respectable opponent like the Gents. "We're really thankful to participate in the Shreveport-Bossier City Holiday Classic and to be a part of such a great weekend for college basketball," said Coach Curran. "It's going to be a great event for all the team's involved and we're really looking forward to a tough game against Centenary College coming into the Gold Dome. I think the fans of Shreveport and Bossier City along with our fans coming in are going to enjoy it. It's going to be a great treat."
 
The tipoff for the game starts at 5:30 PM.