Kent State University
13-14, 7-7MAC
University of Akron
11-15, 4-10MAC
Walker and Avery Help Kent State Hold Off Late Akron Run in 78-68 Win
2/17/2018 5:09:00 PM | Men's Basketball
KENT, Ohio - Jaylin Walker nearly matched the 30 points he dropped on Akron in last year's Mid-American Conference Championship game and Jalen Avery took over at the end of Saturday's rivalry renewal as the Golden Flashes held off the arch-rival Zips for a 78-68 victory at the M.A.C. Center.
Akron pulled ahead late with a 17-4 run and had Kent State mired in a field-goal drought of more than eight minutes before a Walker three-pointer from the right wing with 5:38 to play. Still trailing at the 4:47 mark, Avery drilled a three from the same spot on the floor, igniting a stretch that saw the point guard score all of his 16 points in the game's closing minutes.
"That's my role as a point guard, first to run our team and get everybody their shots…and then at the end of the game, be aggressive," said Avery, who added a second deep three and a retro three along with going 6-for-6 from the foul line down the stretch.
Walker finished with 27 points, going 7-for-12 from three-point range while teaming with Avery to close out the win from the foul line as time ticked away. As a team, KSU made 22 of its 24 foul shots.
"I'm really proud of our team," said Kent State coach Rob Senderoff. "We were down five with six minutes to go and were clearly frustrated with how we were playing. But the guys stuck together and made some huge plays down the stretch both on offense and defense. We are really happy to get the win."
B.J. Duling added 13 points, including two on a soaring alley-oop dunk to cap a fast break with 17:35 to play. The highlight-reel play was part of a fast start to the second half that saw the Flashes make their first five shots from the field.
Kent State trailed by as many as 11 points in the first half only to battle back to take a 32-31 lead into halftime.
The Flashes won the battle of the boards 35-30 behind a team-best eight from Danny Pippen. Desmond Ridenour's three steals and Duling's two helped Kent State outscore Akron 20-13 off of turnovers.
Akron (11-15, 4-10) was led by Malcolm Duvivier's 27 points and Daniel Utomi's 20.
The win ended a four-game losing streak for the Flashes (13-14, 7-7), who go on the road to play Ohio University on Tuesday.
