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With a young team and a brand-new program, there are often learning lessons that come with it.

For the Montcalm Community College men’s basketball team, discipline was one lesson the Centurions learned during a tough 46-44 loss to Owens Community College at home Saturday, Nov. 9.

Seeking their first win of the season and first win of a newly rejuvenated program that hasn’t seen basketball in 40 years, the Centurions (0-3 overall, 0-0 MCCAA Northern), and their fans, were hoping Saturday’s game would be it, as they led the Express (1-2 overall) 40-37 with 5:25 to go in the game.

MCC held the lead throughout the game until OCC suddenly went on a scoring run. It started with a three-point shot by sophomore guard Garette Merphree, which was followed by a three-point play by teammate Bryden Burnett who drove to the net, sinking the shot while getting fouled. He tied the game at 40-40 after making the free throw.

The Express’ sophomore forward Machi Johnson then stole the ball on the Centurions’ next possession, and completed a three-point play with a fast-break layup while getting fouled and sinking the free throw to give OCC is first lead of the game – 43-40 – with 4:39 to go.

The Express pushed it to a 45-40 lead on a second-chance shot by sophomore point guard De’Mar Moore with 2:46 remaining, adding another free throw from a foul a minute later, which capped off a 12-0 scoring run.

The Centurions finally ended their scoring drought when freshman guard Dorian Allen (Winter Haven, Fla.) drove in for a lay-up with 2:29 to go. A minute later, MCC freshman forward Caleb Clements (Greenville, Mich.) rebounded an OCC missed shot and found freshman teammate Mason Dunn (Big Rapids, Mich.) on a sprint to the other side for a dunk, which drew the Centurions to a two-point deficit with 1:10 to go.

The Centurions called time out shortly after Centurions freshman forward Brayden Clark (Carson City, Mich.) rebounded a missed Express three-pointer with only 1.8 seconds to go. Despite losing their lead late, the Centurions had a chance to tie or win the game.

MCC Head Coach Zach Ingles set up a play to have freshman point guard Taylen Carver (Louisville, Ky.) receive the pass from the top of the key and take a shot. However, as Carver took the inbound pass, he was quickly guarded by two Express players and Carver was unable to get a shot off before the final buzzer sounded.

“We ran a right to fade off of like a back screen,” Ingles said, describing the game plan for the last-second shot. “To be honest, the game was lost long before that. It would’ve given us an opportunity but …”

Ingles said his Centurions played two different kinds of basketball that evening. In the first half, the Centurions were playing sound on both sides of the ball, hitting open shots and denying the Express second chances, which helped them build a 13-point lead at one point and take a 30-24 lead into halftime.

In the second half, however, Ingles said he saw a different MCC team, a less disciplined one, which led to the Express outscoring the Centurions 22-14.

“When you’re coaching young people, sometimes you show the signs of discipline, which you saw a glimpse of that in the first half, and in the second half, you saw ‘my way.’ And ‘my way’ doesn’t work,” he said.

With their next game at 7:30 p.m., Tuesday, Nov. 12, against Washtenaw Community College, Ingles said his team needs to turn things around quickly and implement what they learned from their loss on Saturday.

“We’re young. And when you’re young, comes lack of experience, which comes with lack of discipline,” Ingles said, with obvious disappointment. “So, we’re very young and undisciplined. We talked about discipline after the game, and we talked about doing things the right way all the time.”

Allen led MCC in scoring and assists with 14 points and three assists while Clark collected 10 rebounds.

UP NEXT

The Centurions play host Washtenaw Community College at home on Tuesday, Nov. 12, at 7:30 p.m. in the Activities Building gymnasium on MCC’s Sidney campus.