Wednesday night was Bowling Green senior Cameron Black’s final trip home to the M.A.C. Center at Kent State University where he attended his first basketball camps and grew up watching even people from the Kent coaching staff play.
The 6’10” 258-pound center did not let the emotions of this game get the best of him as he had the best game of his career. Black finished with 18 points, nine rebounds, three assists and three blocks.
“I just wanted to come out, give my best effort and make everyone proud,” Black said. “I wanted to play my hardest. Whether I scored or not I just wanted to keep playing.”
No block seemed more important than the block he had on Kent guard Kris Brewer as he attempted the game-tying jumper with four seconds left. Black blocked the shot out of bounds and what came next could only happen in what the Kent players called the “magic” of the M.A.C. Center.
“They drove to the right and I kind of baited Jehvon’s man into a layup and got the block,” Black said. “The last possession was just a lack of communication from the guys on the floor.”
In the huddle, before the inbounds play, Kent coach Rob Senderoff called play C.The play was meant to get the ball to their guard Devareaux Manley. Manley had made four of 11 shots before the play but he knew he would make this shot, he said.
“I knew I was going to make it,” Manley said. “I’m just glad coach called my number and I could respond the right way and make the shot.”
Manley caught the ball in the left corner and with one shot, he ruined what looked to be a homecoming celebration for Black. He nailed the corner three to give the Golden Flashes the 62-61 win.
“It’s tough because we are right there with a chance to win,” Black said. “It’s been like that a lot of games this year, it’s tough.”
That one point win was the largest lead for the Golden Flashes the entire game as they held one-point leads three times throughout the game.
The Falcons have stressed starting fast and they did exactly that this game jumping out to a 13-0 lead. They followed that 13-0 run by turning the ball over four times in the next five possessions, allowing Kent to cut the score to 15-8. Both teams ended the game with 19 turnovers.
“It was a great start, probably one of our best of the year,” Black said. “We just did not stay focused during that stretch to keep that kind of lead.”
They were led by Derek Jackson, who scored 25 points on 8-11 shooting and 5-7 from behind the three point arc.
“We knew he was a capable scorer,” BG head coach Louis Orr said. “He was probably the most deadly of all their guards tonight.”
This makes it two games in a row lost on game-winners for the Falcons. They will look to turn their luck around Saturday when they travel to Muncie, Ind., for a match against Ball State University.
“We have to be resilient, we gotta bounce back,” Orr said. “When you persevere and you keep getting up you can grow from it. It is painful when you go through it because we are this close but I’m hoping our guys will draw closer together and keep fighting.”
