Senior Night is a night that can bring a lot of emotion to the players, coaches and fans. For seniors Cameron Black and Craig Sealey this was their last game in the Stroh Center as Falcons.
“I’ve had a fun time here at BG,” Black said. “I love my teammates and coaches. I’m going to miss being around them all every day.”
But on this senior night the Falcons came out differently than most teams. Instead of bringing the emotion and energy from the start of the game, they brought it when it was too late in the second half. The Falcons lost 72-61.
“Ohio came out hungry and we were sluggish in the first half,” head coach Louis Orr said. “Ohio was just the team with the higher energy tonight.”
Ohio University may have had the higher energy like Orr said, but they also had the hot hand from behind the arc as they shot 55 percent from three on the night. Bobcat guards Javarez Willis and Travis Wilkins combined to go 7-9 from deep and combined for 25 points.
Bobcat guard Nick Kellogg scored 25 points of his own, shooting 8-13 from the floor and a perfect 7-7 from the free throw line.
“They shot the lights out tonight,” Black said. “Our ball pressure wasn’t very good and they were blowing by us leaving kick outs open for threes. We also weren’t closing out hard enough.”
Black, who has been playing well of late, received double teams the whole night. What was different about this double team than any other double team he is used to was that the extra defender wasn’t coming from the passer. Coming from the opposite side cut off a lot of the outlet passes Black was used to seeing.
“I have been playing well as of late, so I expected the double team, but it was different from what I was used to,” Black said. “I tried to adjust to the game and try to get my teammates involved.”
Junior Richaun Holmes scored 20 points on the night. 16 of those points came in the second half. He shot 9-10 from the free throw line and 5-11 from the field.
“He is a talent and the more he is engaged the better player he will be,” Orr said. “It was good to see him get going but I want to see us bring the second half energy for the whole game.”
The Falcons now have eliminated themselves from contention of a home game for the first round of the Mid-American Tournament. They can now only wait to see where they will travel for the first round of their game.
Despite the senior night loss the Falcons will need to prepare as they travel to Buffalo Saturday to end their regular season.
“We just have to keep playing,” Orr said. “That’s what competitors do, that’s what I expect us to do.”
