MORRISTOWN, N.J. – Sophomore Billy Veras and freshman D'Angelo Blackmond combined for 31 poitns and 18 rebounds to lead the Centenary University men's basketball team to a 71-66 win at the College of Saint Elizabeth in Colonial States Athletic Conference (CSAC) play.

With the win tonight, the Cyclones have already matched their win total overall (12) and in CSAC play (7) from a year ago with six games remaining in the regular season.

"I thought we controlled the paint tonight as Billy, D'Angelo and Tom Weiler all had at least nine rebounds for us," said interim head coach Jason Geleski. "I thought our free throw shooting down the stretch helped seal the win."

"I think Tom Wagenblast has done a tremendous job building up the program at Saint Elizabeth," added Geleski.

The Cyclones jumped out to a quick 10-0 lead as Weiler and junior Chris LaBelle each drained three-pointers in the first five minutes of the game.

Centenary pushed its lead to 14-4 on a lay-up from sophomore Samad McMillan at 13:32.

The Cyclones extended their advantage to 22-11 on a Veras' bucket at 8:43.

A pair of jumpers from Veras and one from LaBelle allowed the visitors to take a 31-20 lead with 4:52 to play until the half.

Saint Elizabeth closed the half on a 10-4 run, but the Cyclones took a 35-30 advantage at the break.

The Cyclones and Eagles traded points to start the second half as McMillan's free throw at 15:25 gave the Cyclones a 38-35 edge.

A 6-1 run pushed the Centenary advantage to 44-36 with 11:34 showing on the clock. Veras scored four of the six points during that stretch.

The two teams traded points as a lay-up from sophomore Harrison Lucibello gave Centenary a 50-43 lead with 8:30 to play in the game.

Four straight points from the foul line for Blackmond allowed the Cyclones to take a 58-48 advantage with 5:48 to go.

Sophomore Tyler White sank a pair of free throws and Weiler made a big three-pointer as Centenary led 65-52 with 3:49 showing on the clock.

The two teams continued to battle as LaBelle went 4-for-6 from the foul line and White added a lay-up in the final 1:30 to secure the 71-66 win.

Centenary shot 43.3 percent from the field and went 15-for-22 from the foul line. Saint Elizabeth's posted a 37.3 field goal percentage and was 8-for-10 from the foul line. Centenary won the rebounding battle, 46-33.

Blackmond led Centenary with 15 points and nine rebounds while Veras added 16 points and nine boards. LaBelle contributed 11 points, six rebounds and five assists. Weiler pulled down a team-high 10 rebounds to go along with eight points.

Lance Rhoden led Saint Elizabeth with 16 points and eight rebounds.

Centenary is back in action on Saturday, Feb. 1 when it hosts Rosemont at 2 p.m.