HACKETTSTOWN, N.J. – The Centenary University men's basketball team opened up a 19-point halftime advantage and held off a second half charge by Wilson College for an 81-74 win in Colonial States Athletic Conference (CSAC) play on Saturday afternoon. Sophomore Billy Veras led all players with a game-high 24 points in the contest.

The Cyclones have now won five of their last six contests.

"In the second half, Wilson came out and played well and they fought back to make it a 10-point game," said interim head coach Jason Geleski. "I thought my guys met the challenge and deflected several runs."

"I thought Tyler White played his best game as the point guard and Tom Weiler continued to pull down big defensive rebounds," added Geleski. "Chris LaBelle continues to make the plays and put the ball in the basket down the stretch when we need him. Billy Veras is an exceptional talent, he can play inside or outside depending on his match-up."

With the game tied at 3-3, Centenary used a 13-1 run to take a 16-4 lead with 13:53 showing on the clock. Veras tallied five points during that stretch for the Cyclones.

Centenary extended its lead to 22-8 on a lay-up from sophomore Harrison Lucibello at the 12:15 mark.

Another lay-up from Lucibello at 9:57 pushed the home team's advantage to 28-10.

Wilson responded with a 10-5 run of its own and cut the Centenary lead to 33-20 with 7:11 to go until the half. Jeremiah Carter-Johnson scored eight points during that stretch.

Centenary scored the next 10 points in the contest and pushed its lead to 43-20 with 4:47 showing on the clock. White scored five points during that stretch while Weiler knocked down a big three-pointer.

The two sides traded baskets over the final four minutes of the period as Centenary took a 48-29 lead at the half.

LaBelle had five points in the first two plus minutes of the second half. The Cyclones led 55-36 with 17:33 to go in the game.

A pair of Weiler free throws at 14:53 gave Centenary a 59-37 advantage in the contest.

Wilson used a 10-0 run to pull to within 12, 59-47 with 11:35 showing on the clock. Adrian Thomas scored six points during that stretch.

Centenary scored four of the next six points and pushed its lead to 63-49 with 9:06 to go in the game.

Wilson scored 10 of the next 11 points and pulled to within five, 64-59.

A pair of buckets from Veras pushed the Centenary lead to 11, 70-59 with 5:44 remaining in the contest.

The two teams continued to battle as a LaBelle jumper at 3:05 put the home team up, 75-65.

A 7-2 run pulled Wilson to within five, 77-72 with 21 seconds to go. Rashaan Bean had five of those seven.

Centenary went 4-for-5 from the foul line in the final 20 seconds to secure the 81-74 win.

The Cyclones shot 49.2 percent from the field and was 11-for-14 from the foul line. Wilson posted a 35.1 field goal percentage and was 16-for-25 from the foul line. The Phoenix held a 45-43 edge in the rebounding battle.

Veras added six rebounds and four blocks to go along with his 24 points. White finished with 16 points and two assists while LaBelle had 15 points, nine assists and eight rebounds. Weiler had a game-high 10 rebounds and nine points.

Bean led Wilson with 19 points and 10 rebounds.

The Cyclones are back in action on Wednesday, Jan. 29 when they travel to Saint Elizabeth for an 8 p.m. game. It will be a battle of the top two teams in the CSAC as both squads have 11 overall wins while Centenary boasts a 6-1 conference mark and Saint Elizabeth is 5-2.