Kent State University
University of Toledo
Golden Flashes to Celebrate 100 Seasons of Men’s Basketball Saturday
2/5/2016 12:00:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Game Notes Video Live Stats Audio
Kent State will welcome back former student-athletes, coaches, support staff and managers to return to the M.A.C. Center to celebrate a century Golden Flashes hoops when it hosts Toledo on Saturday, February 6 at 7 p.m. The game will follow the Kent State women's basketball contest scheduled for 5 p.m., which is also against Toledo.
The Golden Flashes (15-7, 6-3 MAC) enter as one of three teams sitting just one game behind Akron for first place in the overall Mid-American Conference standings, while Toledo (13-9, 4-5 MAC) looks to even its conference record and in the MAC West race.
The frontcourt of Jimmy Hall (16.4 ppg, 7.5 rpg), Khaliq Spicer (6.7 ppg, 6.0 rpg) and Chris Ortiz (7.7 ppg, 5.5 rpg) has helped Kent State control play around the basket. The Flashes own a +4.5 rebounding advantage while outscoring opponents 34.8-26.7 in the paint and 12.4-9.0 on second chance opportunities.
The Golden Flashes' backcourt is led by Kellon Thomas, who has played well in his return to the court after being sidelined for all but eight games during the 2014-15 season and is averaging a career-high 12.4 points per game. Deon Edwin (5.1 ppg, 3.1 rpg) and Galal Cancer (3.9 ppg) have seen increased roles in recent games due to Xavier Pollard (12.2 ppg, 3.0 apg) and Jaylin Walker (7.8 ppg) being sidelined.
Scouting Toledo
Toledo cruised to a wire-to-wire victory over Western Michigan, 89-62, on Tuesday to snap a three-game skid. The Rockets feature one of the MAC's most prolific offenses and lead the conference in assists (16.9 apg) and assist-to-turnover ratio (1.47) while ranking second in scoring (78.7 ppg), field goal percentage (.461) and free throw percentage (.727). Defensively, Toledo has struggled to defend the three-point arc and opponents are shooting a MAC-best 38.1-percent from long range. However, the Rockets grab nearly 76-percent of its opponent's misses, which ranks 14th in the country.
Center Nathan Boothe has proven that his name belongs in the MAC Player of the Year conversation, as the senior leads the conference in scoring (19.2 ppg) and ranks second in double-doubles (10), third in rebounding (9.2 rpg) and among the top 10 in field goal percentage (.513), assists (3.6 apg), and free throw percentage (.795). Boothe can score around the basket and also step out to the three-point line, where he has made 23 shots at a 39.7-percent clip. Guard Jonathan Williams adds 18.1 points per game, which ranks third in the league, to give Toledo the top scoring combo in the MAC. Guard Stuckey Mosley is also in double-figures at 11.2 points per game and adds a team-best 3.8 assists per game.
Series History
• Kent State owns a 47-80 record all-time vs. Toledo.
• Kent State has flipped the series since the turn of the century and holds a 15-6 advantage in the 2000's.
• The Golden Flashes have won seven of the last nine meetings, including a season sweep a year ago.
• Kent State had won six straight over Toledo at the M.A.C. Center prior to the 2013 MAC opener, a 70-58 Rockets victory.
• That game also snapped Kent State's 31-game winning streak against MAC West schools.
FLASHback to Last Meeting
• Kris Brewer's free throw with 2.1 seconds to play in overtime was the difference as Kent State exited Savage Arena with a thrilling 76-75 overtime victory in front of a national audience on ESPNU on February 13, 2015.
• Playing without All-MAC forward Jimmy Hall for the fourth straight game and coming off a tough loss to rival Akron just three days earlier, seniors Brewer, Derek Jackson and Devareaux Manley put the team on their backs, scoring the final 20 points and combining for 58 points and 11 three-pointers overall.
• Kent State shot 50-percent (15-for-30) in the opening half to lead 36-32 at halftime and never trailed again during regulation.
• A pair of Manley free throws gave the Flashes a 5-point lead with :20 to play, but a missed box out led to a three-point play by Toledo's J.D. Weatherspoon.
• Manley was quickly fouled and once again made both of his free throws to go ahead by four.
• Julius Brown connected on his three-point attempt to make it a one-point game, and Manley made just 1 of 2 free throws with :05 to play.
• Stuckey Mosley then beat the Flashes down the floor and scored his only points of the game with less than a second remaining. He was fouled on the play, but missed the game-winning free throw.
• Neither team could get more than a 2-point edge in the overtime period, and Brewer was able to redeem himself as the clock near expiration. After fouling Mosley to end regulation, the senior drew a foul on the freshman on a jump shot with 2.1 to play and split the free throws for the deciding point.
• Khaliq Spicer made his only field goal attempt and finished with just 3 points, but grabbed 12 rebounds and blocked 3 shots.
• Despite playing without Hall, the Flashes' depth was the difference, as they led 30-8 in bench scoring.
• Weatherspoon (16 points, 10 rebounds), Boothe (15 points, 14 rebounds) and Justin Drummond (17 points, 10 rebounds) all finished with double-doubles to lead Toledo.
Radio
Ty Linder and David Carducci will bring you the action on the Golden Flashes iHeartRadio channel and 640 WHLO.
Next Up For Kent State
The Golden Flashes will continue a stretch of four of five games at the M.A.C. Center when they host Northern Illinois at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, February 9.
