SHREVEPORT, La. -- The Texas Lutheran Bulldogs are headed to the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference Men's Basketball Championship for a second consecutive year after defeating tournament host Centenary College 80-70 Saturday afternoon in the Gold Dome.

For the second straight year, the top-seeded Bulldogs (20-6) needed a win over the tournament host in the SCAC semifinal to reach the championship final. Centenary's season came to a close with a 16-11 overall record.
 TLU has won 20 games in a season for the first time in the school's NCAA Division III era, which began in 2002-03. This year's 20-win season is the Bulldogs' first since the 1995-96 season, when TLU went 20-9 as a member of the NAIA.

Like the 2015 tournament at the University of Dallas, the Bulldogs were up to the task in the semifinal against the host school. Against Centenary, TLU shot 52.6 percent from the three-point line and made 10 total threes in the victory.

Jordan Kouremetis and Paris Marquez each hit three three-pointers, and Zach Behr and Sterling Holmes each added a pair of threes.

The Bulldogs were 4-of-7 (57.1 percent) from the arc in the second half.

Holmes led TLU with 17 points on 5-of-7 shooting. He went 2-for-3 from the three-point line and added six rebounds, three assists and a steal.

Marquez, a true freshman, added 16 points, six rebounds, three assists and three steals. Kouremetis, still wearing a boot prior to the game for a foot injury, chipped in 14 points and three rebounds in 28 minutes of action.

TLU out-rebounded Centenary 42-32 and held a 15-12 edge on the offensive glass.

Behr pulled down 10 rebounds, and Aris Qadash Williams recorded six rebounds off the bench. Williams also put in seven points, including a strong dunk late in the second half.

James Sapp led Centenary with 17 points. He added seven rebounds. Travion Kirkendoll flirted with a triple-double. He posted 14 points, nine rebounds and eight assists. He also tallied four steals.

The Bulldogs will play either No. 2 seed Colorado College or No. 6 seed Austin College for the 2016 SCAC Championship. (Colorado College and Austin meet in the second semifinal of the day.)

The winner of the SCAC tournament receives the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Championship. TLU has been ranked No. 1 in the last two NCAA DIII South Region rankings.