Kent State University
19-12 (10-8MAC)
University of Akron
24-7 (13-5MAC)
Hall Dominates Inside, Flashes Fall on Road to Zips in Regular Season Finale
3/4/2016 11:39:00 PM | Men's Basketball
AKRON, Ohio – Kent State dropped its regular season finale, 74-60, Friday night at James A. Rhodes Arena despite 20 points and 17 rebounds from redshirt junior Jimmy Hall.
The loss, combined with a win by Buffalo, gives the Golden Flashes (19-12, 10-8 MAC) the No. 5 seed in next week's Mid-American Conference Tournament. The Flashes will host No. 12 Bowling Green at the M.A.C. Center at 7 p.m. Monday night.
Hall was able to get just about any shot he wanted around the basket and shot 10-for-16 from the field while pulling down a career-high in rebounds, which included seven on the offensive end of the floor. He added three assists. The only blemishes on his night were a 0-for-3 performance at the foul line and a career-high seven turnovers.
Take away Hall, and the Flashes shot just 12-of-45 as a team (26.7 percent). Redshirt junior Kellon Thomas (11 points), redshirt junior Deon Edwin (8 points), graduate student Galal Cancer (5 points) and freshman Jaylin Walker (0 points) combined to score 24 points on 9-for-35 shooting (25.7 percent).
For the second time this season, Kent State did a fantastic job of defending the three-point line against Akron, holding one of the nation's elite shooting teams to 7-for-33 from long range (21.2 percent). In particular, the Flashes shut down seniors Jake Kretzer and Reggie McAdams. The sharpshooters were held to just 12 points on 1-for-13 from the three-point line and 1-for-16 overall.
Kent State owned a 45-41 edge on the glass, including 15-14 on the offensive end. However, they were outscored, 21-12, in second chance scoring.
Akron got 12 points and 11 rebounds off the bench from Isaiah Johnson. Noah Robotham also had 12 points and Josh Williams added 11 points,
Postgame Press Conference
