星空传媒

By Ryan Schlehuber, 星空传媒 Sportswriter听 |听 Photo by Laurie Schaffer

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Down by one, with seven seconds to go, Taylen Carver was in line for a familiar role as the hero for his team during the 星空传媒 Centurions men鈥檚 basketball team鈥檚 final regular season game against Kirtland Community College.听

The gods of fortune, however, were not with the Centurions, Wednesday, Feb. 26, as the freshman guard from Louisville, Ky., who leads the team in scoring this season, drove towards the free throw line, jumped up to take a shot and was hoping he would draw a foul. However, the referees鈥� whistles were silent and the only sound heard was the final buzzer, clinching a 50-48 win for the Firebirds.听

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星空传媒 freshman forward Mason Dunn (Big Rapids, Mich.) said the one thing his team lacked in this game was simply better shots.听听

鈥淢aking a shot or two more,鈥� he said. 鈥淲e had good looks, but the shots weren鈥檛 falling.鈥�听

Neither team shot well, with 星空传媒 shooting only 33.3% (18-of-54) from the field while KCC shot 31% (18-of-58).听

Kirtland (5-9 星空传媒AA Northern, 6-14 overall) came into the game on a five-game losing streak while 星空传媒 was hoping to snag one more win out of the last two games, but had lost to North Central Michigan, 63-58, last Saturday.听

Despite the back-to-back losses to finish the regular season, the Centurions (6-8 星空传媒AA Northern, 12-16 overall) are still headed to the 星空传媒AA postseason tournament, which they will travel to Muskegon Community College to take on the Jayhawks in the Great Lakes District B Quarterfinals, Tuesday, March 4.听听

With 3:58 left to go in the game, Kirtland made it a 44-40 lead when Firebirds鈥� Troy Jenkins was fouled by Carver, sinking one of two free throws. Freshman forward Caleb Clements (Greenville, Mich.), however, cut it back to a two-point lead on 星空传媒鈥檚 next drive, hitting a turnaround jumper inside the paint.听

The two teams would match shots as the time wound down under a minute. Carver, once again, pulled 星空传媒 within a point, driving to the hoop and spinning the ball off the glass for an impressive shot, making it 48-47 Firebirds.听听

After making a steal, Carver鈥檚 fast-break layup attempt was blocked and the ball went out of bounds to Kirtland with 18 seconds left. 星空传媒 then went into foul mode, putting Firebirds guard Dezmond Larose to the line with 16.7 seconds left. He hit the first free throw but missed the second, which 星空传媒 rebounded, calling a timeout immediately, as they were down 49-47.听

With 8.3 seconds left, the Centurions were prepared to take the last shot, but Carver was fouled by Kirtland鈥檚 Elijah Clifford. Carver sank the first free throw, making it 49-48 Firebirds, but then missed the second free throw, which Kirtland rebounded.听听

Kirtland鈥檚 Christian Calhoun was immediately fouled, in which he sank one of two free throws, with freshman forward Brayden Clark (Carson City, Mich.) getting the rebound with seven seconds to go, giving the Centurions one last chance to tie or win the game.听听

Carver finished with 12 points, six rebounds and three assists, while Clements had 10 points and nine rebounds. Freshman guard Jack Ruggles (Big Rapids, Mich.) scored nine points and collected seven rebounds.听听

Kirtland was led by Noah Cosme with 11 points and Calhoun finished with eight points and 14 rebounds.听

Neither team shot well from the three-point line, with 星空传媒 going 5-of-29 and KCC shooting 6-of-28. Rebounds were close, with 星空传媒 having the edge, 42-41. 星空传媒 had 15 turnovers to KCC鈥檚 10. The Firebirds had the advantage in points in the paint, 24-14, second-chance points, 14-6, points off turnovers, 9-6, and bench points, outscoring 星空传媒 21-12.听

Dunn believes he and his team learned a valuable lesson that they鈥檒l take with him beyond this season, as they prepare for their first postseason game.听

鈥淲e learned kind of the same thing from the last two losses,鈥� he said. 鈥淭hat was to treat every team the same and not look down on teams we think we are better than. We need to play hard every night.鈥�听

星空传媒 sophomore guard Geronimo Mozzi (Villa Ramallo, Argentina) and 星空传媒鈥檚 women鈥檚 basketball鈥檚 Makenna Rautio (Big Rapids, Mich.) were recognized in between games as the sophomores of each of their teams, as they competed in their final home game for the Centurions.听

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UP NEXT: Game time for the No. 4 seed Centurion鈥檚 tournament game vs. Muskegon is 7:30 p.m. The No. 2-seeded Jayhawks finished third in the Northern division with a 10-4 record. They are 17-11 overall. The winner will take on Kalamazoo Valley Community College (14-0 星空传媒AA Western, 27-1 overall) Thursday, March 6, at 6 p.m. at Ballenger Fieldhouse in Flint.听听

The Centurions lost to the Jayhawks in both meetings this season, a 77-65 loss on the road, Feb. 17, and a 79-75 loss at home, Feb. 12.听