The best of the West played host to the best of the East Saturday night in Mount Pleasant, Mich.
Kent State beat Central Michigan 68-63 to claim honors as the best in the Mid-American Conference.
With the win, KSU (17-7, 8-2) increased its winning streak to seven games and handed CMU (11-10, 6-3) its second loss this season at the Rose Center. In addition, the Flashes' win streak against MAC West Division opponents improved to 15 consecutive games.
Central Michigan led Kent State 31-28 at halftime, which really wasn't too bad of a deficit, considering the Flashes struggled to get going in the first half. They committed seven turnovers that the Chippewas promptly turned into nine first-half points.
But Kent State center Justin Greene closed the gap at the start of the second half when he was fouled making the first basket of the period, using the three-point play to pull even at 31-31. Greene led all scorers with 22 points, to go along with five rebounds and three steals. KSU senior guard Chris Singletary had 19 points, six rebounds and six assists.
The Chippewas ran out to their largest lead, 48-39, with 12:44 to go in the game before a crucial timeout by Kent State coach Geno Ford. In the two minutes following, the Flashes went on a 10-0 run to take their first lead of the half.
"Out of the timeout, we went to zone just to take them out of their rhythm a little bit, and the move paid off," Ford said. "Offensively, Justin and Chris really took over the game inside."
Flashes senior forward Anthony Simpson hit a pair of 3-pointers to retain KSU's slight lead with five minutes remaining. Coming off a career-high 19 points in KSU's win over Eastern Michigan on Thursday, Simpson was quiet in the first half before finding his long-range touch to contribute the two key baskets.
The Chippewas responded with a 5-0 run in a matter of a minute, a spurt punctuated by junior guard Antonio Weary's steal and dunk. Kent State junior guard Rod Sherman erased the deficit all by himself via a short jumper followed by a 3-pointer to put the Flashes back up 62-58.
With the Flashes leading by four with under a minute to go, the Chippewas resorted to fouling, desperately needing to stop the clock. But the effort was too little, too late, as the Flashes put the game away at the foul line while withstanding a Weary 3-pointer with nine seconds remaining.
NOTES:
- It was the ninth straight win over Central Michigan and the 16th straight in the regular season.
- KSU has won 16 straight against the MAC West.
- After committing nine turnovers in the first 22 minutes, KSU had just one the final 18.
- The Golden Flashes have held 11 of the last 12 opponents to 33.3 percent shooting or less from three.
- Kent State held a 32-24 advantage in points scored in the paint, marking the 11th straight win by KSU when scoring at least 30 points in the paint.
Box Score
Kent State Comeback Tops Central Michigan 68-63 In Showdown Of MAC Divisional Leaders – KentStateSports.com
Flashes Hold Off Chippewas in First-Place Slug Fest – CMUChippewas.com
KSU men beat Central Michigan for 7th straight win – Record Courier
Kent State men's basketball will play at Central Michigan tonight at 7:00 p.m. It will match the East leader (KSU, 16-7, 7-2) and the West leading Chippewas (11-9, 6-2).
Quick Flashes
• Kent State has won 15 straight against MAC West opponents. The Golden Flashes last loss came on Feb. 2, 2008 at Toledo.
• During the six game winning streak the Golden Flashes are averaging 36.7 points per game in the paint. Kent State has won the last 10 games when the team has scored at least 30 points in the paint.
• Kent State leads the MAC in three-point field goal percentage defense during MAC play (25.4 percent) while Central Michigan is first with 7.6 three-pointers made per game.
• Kent State is the only MAC team with four players averaging in double figures, yet only one KSU player (Rodriquez Sherman – 20th) ranks top 20 in the league for minutes played.
• The Golden Flashes have shot over 50 percent in four of the last six games and are shooting 50.5 percent during the six game win streak.
Series Notes
• Kent State has a 39-29 edge in the series having won eight straight overall and 15 straight regular season meetings.
• Kent State has won the last 10 meetings at Central Michigan, but CMU still owns a 17-15 mark at home in the series that first dates back to 1950.
This is a big game for the Central Michigan program. From The Morning Sun…
"This is definitely the biggest game we have had here in a while," CMU senior guard Robbie Harman said. "We have Kent State and they are obviously the best team over in the east. This is just going to be big for everything in terms of where we are seeded in the conference and how we feel about ourselves as a team."
"Kent State has perenially been the best team in the MAC for the past 10 years," Zeigler said of today's game. "It is an important game because of the conversations that take place about the differences in the MAC East and the MAC West. We are going to roll our sleeves up and get ready to play a great team."
"Kent State has great balance and they really look to push things on offense," Zeigler said. "It will be a great challenge for us to see if we can compete to be at the top of the conference."
"I implore each and every student and everyone in the community to come out and support this team. We are doing something special," Zeigler said. "People need to get excited about our basketball team. It is basketball season. Football will come back here in the fall. They will play spring ball in the spring but right now, let's focus our attention on the men's basketball team that is out here fighting and busting their behinds, doing something really good and special right now."
Dave Hackenberg from the Toledo Blade writes this article on the current landscape of basketball in the Mid-American Conference.
Earlier in the season Kent State coach Geno Ford called senior forward Anthony Simpson an "X-factor." On Thursday night Simpson was a huge factor in helping lead the Golden Flashes (16-7, 7-2) to their sixth straight win, a 75-68 triumph over Eastern Michigan (11-11, 3-6). It was the program's 400th win in school history.
Simpson scored a career high 19 points to go along with 7 rebounds. Simpson was 3-4 from the three point line. His corner three with 3:07 to go in the second half gave KSU the breathing room they needed to hang on for a victory, despite some sloppy play down the stretch.
Looking like a player with tremendous professional potential, Simpson had a couple highlight reel dunks in the first half to go along with two three pointers to lead KSU with 10 points at the break as the Flashes took a 32-20 lead.
“Anthony was fantastic tonight. He had one of those games where everything was working for him and he did a lot of things well, said Ford. “He did an unbelievable job and the three he hit in the corner down the stretch was a dagger."
Tyree Evans and Rod Sherman both had 14 points in the game for Kent State, who shot 65 percent in the second half.
Kent State held a 23-2 advantage of fast break points and a 31-8 advantage off the bench thanks to Simpson's heroics.
KSU completes the two-game swing through Michigan on Saturday, Feb. 6 at Central Michigan. Game time is 7:00 pm. On Thursday night the Chippewas beat Buffalo to up their MAC record to 6-2.
“You get a good win tonight and you want to feel good and enjoy it,” Ford said. “We’ve got 48 hours and we got to play at Central.”
NOTES:
- Kent State has won 14 straight against Eastern Michigan, tying the longest active streak by one MAC team over another (Miami over Eastern Michigan)
- Kent State is 9-0 this season when Anthony Simpson scores in double figures.
- KSU has won 15 straight over against the MAC West.
- Kent State is 16-3 this season when scoring over 60 points
Box Score
Kent State Hangs On For Sixth Straight Victory With 75-68 Win Over Eastern Michigan – KentStateSports.com
Double-Doubles by Dobbins, Bowdry Not Enough as EMU Falls – EMUEagles.com
Golden Flashes stretch hot streak to six – Record Courier
Flashes glide past Eagles – KentWired.com
By Stephanie Storm
Beacon Journal sports writer
Physical defense has been the calling card for Kent State during its current five-game winning streak, and it looks to be key again today as the Golden Flashes go for the 400th win in program history.
Winners of 10 of its past 13 games, KSU hits the road for a two-game road swing through the Mid-American Conference West Division that begins tonight at Eastern Michigan and wraps up Saturday at Central Michigan (10-9, 5-2).
With a streak of 12 successful winning seasons, including a decade of 20 or more wins each season, the Flashes have recorded 148 of those 399 wins in the past 12 years.
They have also been rather successful as of late against the MAC West, winning their past 13 games against their cross-divisional opponents — home or on the road.
The defensive mind-set is something that has come to the Flashes of late. After losing back-to-back games early in conference play to Miami and Bowling Green, KSU coaches were finally able to convince the players that their defense was as key to winning as was their offense.
"After we lost those two MAC games, we sat down and had a team meeting," freshman point guard Randal Holt said Monday after the Flashes' 76-46 blowout of visiting Northern Illinois. "And we came to the conclusion that the reason we were losing wasn't because of our offense. It was because of defense.
"On any given night we might have it going [offensively] or we might not. But we can always go on the other end and 'D' somebody up. Regardless if we're making shots or not, we can control defense."
Consider that KSU has held 10 of the past 11 opponents to less than 32 percent shooting from 3-point range and that the Flashes lead the MAC with a plus-5.2 rebounding margin.
A large part of the latter statistic is due to being tied for first place in MAC play with 12.6 offensive rebounds per game, which has led to 14.1 second-chance points per game for a plus-6.2 advantage over the opposition.
"Ever since the preseason, coach [Geno Ford] has been preaching defense, defense, defense," sophomore center Justin Greene said. "We've done so many defensive drills that it's stuck in our heads. Everybody knows to hedge, everybody knows to be on the help side and everybody knows to get over the screen or under the screen. Now, it's just become routine for us. So what we have to do is just 'D' everyone up — all the way to the MAC championship."
Tonight's host, Eastern Michigan (11-10, 3-5), is in fifth place in the six-team West Division, but the Eagles can be dangerous. They snapped a two-game losing skid by knocking off then East Division co-leader Akron in a 62-59 upset Monday at Rhodes Arena.
UA's loss, coupled with Kent State's 30-point victory over the Huskies, allowed the Flashes to claim sole possession of first place in the MAC East.
Even if the Flashes make it through tonight's test unscathed, Saturday's game at division-leading Central Michigan (10-9, 5-2) will be no easy task. Like KSU, CMU is a defensive-minded team.
In a recent win over BGSU, the Chippewas held the Falcons to 38 percent shooting from the field, 9 percent shooting from 3-point range and out-rebounded the host for a 64-52 victory.
"We came in and faced a very good Bowling Green team and did a great job defensively on their talented group of guards," CMU coach Ernie Zeigler said. "It shows that if we focus our efforts on the defensive end of the floor, we will have success."
It's a message all-too familiar for Kent State's players, as well.
Expanding the NCAA Tournament from 65 teams to 96 has been a serious topic of debate recently.
Kent State men's coach Geno Ford recently shared his opinion on the issue with The Plain Dealer.
"I would think you could get at least seven more mid-majors," Kent State coach Geno Ford said. "Look at a team like Cleveland State a year ago. If they don't upset Butler in the conference tournament, it's 85- to 90-percent certain they don't get in, even with a win over Syracuse. They end up getting in, and winning a game. They proved they belonged.
"But had they lost on Butler's home court, they probably would not have been a participant. That's the kind of team you hope [expanding the tournament] benefits. I guarantee you there was at least other team out there just like Cleveland State that didn't make it."
With 347 schools playing Division I men's basketball, 27.6 percent of the teams would take part in a 96-team tournament. That number sounds about right to Ford.
"You still have to have a heck of a year to get in," Ford said. "It isn't like they're going to start putting teams in with 16 wins. I think the reality is, how elite does the tournament have to be. Should it only be 16 percent?"
The Golden Flashes (15-7, 6-2) continue to win in their golden uniforms. Kent State won their fifth straight game on Monday night, all wearing the gold. The Flashes did it in impressive fashion, running away for a 76-46 victory. With Akron's home loss to Eastern Michigan, KSU is in 1st place by themselves.
More important than the uniforms was Kent State's defense. The Flashes held Northern Illinois (8-12, 4-4) to 29 percent shooting in the game, including 21 percent in the second half and just 17 points. NIU was 2-15 from behind the arc.
The Huskies came into the game leading the MAC in scoring during conference games at 75 points per game. Xavier Silas, NIU's smooth swingman came into the game leading the MAC in conference games by averaging 24 points per game. Thanks to smothering team defense and a great individual effort by Tyree Evans, Silas went 1-9 and finished with seven points.
“Coach has been preaching, ‘Defense, defense, defense.’ We’ve done so many defensive drills that it’s stuck in our heads," Justin Greene said. "Everybody knows the hedge, everybody knows the help side, everybody knows to get over the screen or under the screen. Whatever Coach tells us to do, we just go out there and get it done.”
Greene led the Flashes with 18 points, while Anthony Simpson (12), Randal Holt (11) and Chris Singletary (10) all joined Greene in double figures. Singletary had a good overall game with eight rebounds and six assists.
Kent State shot 47 percent from the field and were able to knock down seven three pointers on the evening.
"We did a good job of going inside-out on offense," Head Coach Geno Ford said. "That’s our team. "We’ve got to go inside out. Tonight, everything clicked offensively.”
Thanks to Kent State's defense, especially on Silas, they were able to cruise to their 14th straight victory against a team from the West division. They have now won 19 straight at home against the West. Head Coach Geno Ford is now 10-0 against the West at Kent State.
Northern Illinois coach Ricardo Patton came away impressed at the Flashes' dismantling of his team. “Coming into this game I thought Buffalo was the best team I’d seen so far in our league," he said. "Right now, I’d have to give that nod to Kent State. I thought whatever Kent State is doing in the weight room, they’re building men. Xavier Silas has probably the best basketball body of any of the guys that we have, and he looked small out there.”
Kent State will make a road trip through Michigan later this week. They will play at Eastern Michigan on Thursday night at 7:00 p.m.
Box Score
BRACKETBUSTER = WESTERN CAROLINA - Kent State will host Larry Hunter and Western Carolina in their BracketBuster game on February 20. Game time is set for 8:00 p.m. and will be broadcast on ESPNU. Hunter is the former coach at Ohio University and was Ford's college coach. Hunter had Ford's brother Dustin as an assistant at WCU before he accepted an assistant position at Ohio last season. Last season Western Carolina came into the M.A.C. Center and beat the Flashes 89-84 in overtime. The Catamounts are currently 17-5 and 7-3 in the Southern Conference's North Division with an RPI of 73. Sticking with the Western Carolina theme, Kent State recently got a verbal commitment from former Western Carolina guard and Massillon native Mike Porrini to play for the Flashes next season. Kent State will play at Western Carolina in the 2010-2011 season in November or December.
Kent State, Akron both rewarded with TV matchups in BracketBuster pairings – Cleveland Plain Dealer
SINGLETARY IS MAC EAST POW – Singletary was named MAC East Player of the Week earlier in the day for his performances last week in leading the Flashes to a 2-0 record. He averaged 16 points per game during the week. It was his second player of the week honor this season and Kent State's fifth time on the season a player has won the award.
Additional Coverage:
Flashes take sole control of first place in MAC – Akron Beacon Journal
KSU keeps rolling, wins fifth straight – Record Courier
Kent State Extends Streak To Five Straight With 76-46 Win Over Northern Illinois – KentStateSports.com
Balanced Kent State breezes past Northern Illinois – Cleveland Plain Dealer
Flashes shut down the Huskies – KentWired.com
Hot-Shooting Kent State Races Past Huskies, 76-46 – NIUHuskies.com
By Stephanie Storm Beacon Journal sports writer
KENT: Not even a half-hour after the Golden Flashes topped visiting Western Michigan Saturday in stunning fashion, Kent State head coach Geno Ford was moving on.
"Come on, guys, let's get going," Ford jokingly urged a group of reporters. "My enjoyment of Rod Sherman's play just ended."
The play Ford was referring to was junior guard Rodriquez Sherman's stunning coast-to-coast, one-handed tomahawk that drew a foul with 2.4 seconds left and emphatically handed the host Flashes a 74-73 victory.
But as much as KSU players and coaches would have preferred to revel just a little bit in Saturday's big win, Ford was well aware the team had a mere 48 hours to prepare for its next test in visiting Northern Illinois tonight at 7 at the M.A.C. Center.
"It was an unbelievable play," Ford said. "I don't know that I've ever seen a game end on something like that."
With the unforgettable win, Kent State continues to own a share of first place with rival Akron in the Mid-American Conference's East Division with a 5-2 league mark and 14-7 overall record.
Meanwhile, Northern Illinois has slipped into third place in the MAC West Division at 8-11 and 4-3.
While the Golden Flashes are riding a four-game winning streak with victories over Buffalo, Akron and Toledo before Saturday's win over the Broncos, the Huskies are headed the other way, mired in a three-game losing streak.
Northern Illinois has proven to be a streaky team all season, owning losing streaks of two, five and now three. But the Huskies have also pieced together winning spurts of two and a season-high of five before the trio of losses to Central Michigan, Ohio and Buffalo.
Although the Huskies' Xavier Silas led all scorers Saturday against visiting Buffalo with 27 points (the junior guard's eighth output of 20 or more points this season), the Bulls still easily cruised to a 95-83 victory.
"We were right there at times," NIU head coach Ricardo Patton said after the game. "When we went to the bench, we didn't get the production we have seen in the past. We've got to get more production there."
In comparison, points off the bench have been one of KSU's main strengths all season, with points coming from nearly every player to touch the ball most games. In fact, the Flashes' reserves have almost always outscored their opponents' subs, including recently getting 19 points off the bench against the Broncos.
Kent State game notes
Northern Illinois game notes
KSU men get verbal from ex-Massillon star Porrini – Record Courier
