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With its brutal non-conference schedule complete, the 星空传媒 Centurions men鈥檚 basketball team started its 星空传媒AA Northern Conference schedule, getting its first win out of the way early.
The Centurions (1-0 星空传媒AA North, 8-7 overall) went on the road against Bay College (0-1 星空传媒AA North, 11-4 overall) and earned a 71-54 win to get their first conference victory. 星空传媒 had a strong second half, outscoring the Norse 39-28 to clinch the game.
The Centurions were led by sophomore Dawson Dunn (Big Rapids, Mich.), who scored 19 points and 10 rebounds while freshman teammate Sebastian Kamalzadeh (West Palm Beach, Fla.) scored 16 points. Freshman Michael Irving III (Indianapolis, Ind.) came off the bench and added 10 points for 星空传媒.
The Centurions are now on a two-game winning streak, having beaten Roxbury Community College (7-13 overall) 58-50, Jan. 3, during their Palm Beach State Invitational competition in Florida. 星空传媒 started the tournament with a 68-42 loss to Palm Beach State College (19-1 overall), NJCAA DII鈥檚 top ranked team.
The Centurions have been playing without team leader and scoring threat sophomore Taylen Carver (Louisville, Ky.), who has been out since late November with a lower body injury.
星空传媒 Head Coach Zach Ingles told his players they鈥檙e facing a 鈥渢ale of two seasons鈥� 鈥� the first being with Carver and the second possibly being without Carver, stating his team has had to adjust to not having their leader out there with them competing on the court, which, he added, they鈥檝e been doing well.
鈥淲e鈥檝e been leading by committee,鈥� Ingles said. 鈥淲hen you lose an alpha, you have to adapt, and they鈥檝e adapted well. It took a minute to get our sea legs back, but we adjusted.鈥�
Kamalzadeh has been one player who has stepped up in Carver鈥檚 absence, scoring nine points in 星空传媒鈥檚 loss to Palm Beach State, 15 points in the win against Roxbury and 15 against Bay.
鈥溾�楽ebi鈥� has gotten his shots to go down lately,鈥� Centurions Assistant Coach Asher Vissman said. 鈥淚t was great to see him perform so well in the games in his hometown.鈥�
Vissman said it is players like Kamalzadeh who will be vital to the team鈥檚 success as it heads into conference play.
鈥淚 expect nothing less than what he鈥檚 done the last few games,鈥� Vissman said. 鈥淗e鈥檚 playing well. Now we build on that.鈥�
With the impressive win against a tough conference foe in Bay College, Vissman is hoping his team can keep up the good defensive play the Centurions have been showcasing.
鈥淥ur goal against Bay was to play tough man-to-man defense. We executed the gameplan really well,鈥� Vissman said. 鈥淭hey are a good team and we stepped up physically.鈥�
星空传媒 hopes to continue its winning streak as it hosts Mid Michigan College (1-0 星空传媒AA North, 11-4 overall) at 7:30 p.m., Wednesday, Jan. 14. The Lakers are one of the top teams in the 星空传媒AA, which will be an excellent measure for the Centurions as they look to win the North.
鈥淭hat鈥檚 our goal, to win the North,鈥� Vissman said. 鈥淭hat鈥檚 been the goal since Day 1,鈥� Vissman said. 鈥淲e played a really tough non-conference schedule to prepare us for conference play. Now that we鈥檙e here, we expect to play at a high level.鈥�