Kent State Rallies For 71-67 Win Over Miami
Box Score (.PDF)
Greene scores a season best 23 points as Golden Flashes even MAC record at 1-1
KENT, Ohio – Senior forward Justin Greene (Brooklyn, N.Y.) scored a season high 23 points including the go-ahead basket with 23 seconds remaining as Kent State (11-4; 1-1 MAC) rallied for a 71-67 Mid-American Conference win over Miami (4-10; 0-2 MAC) on Wednesday night at the M.A.C. Center. The Golden Flashes erased a seven point deficit in the final six minutes by closing the game out with a 13-2 run.
"When we needed to make plays on the defensive end and when we needed to get defensive rebounds, we seemed to come up with all of them," said Kent State Head Coach Rob Senderoff. "Our kids did a phenomenal job just not giving up, staying with it and finding a way to win."
Greene's big night was backed up by a 16 point effort from junior guard Randal Holt (Cleveland, Ohio) who had a game tying layup with 1:27 left and then helped seal the win with two free throws in the final 10 seconds after Kent State forced a Miami turnover. Holt also chipped in five rebounds and three steals.
Senior guard Carlton Guyton (Chicago, Ill.) added 10 points for the Golden Flashes all the while setting up the game winning basket by driving and dishing off to Greene and also had a key three-pointer with five minutes left that cut a six point deficit in half. Despite an 0-9 effort from the field, senior guard Michael Porrini (Massillon, Ohio) had a big night statistically and was involved in numerous amount of key plays that fueled Kent State's second half resurgence. The 2011 MAC Defensive Player of the Year. Porrini grabbed nine rebounds, had four blocks and two steals to go along with his eight assists. Seven of his nine rebounds cam in the second half during which the Golden Flashes had a 24-14 advantage on the boards.
"Every win is important, especially every win at home," said Senderoff. "You can't lose home games in this league, it's too tough to win on the road to lose home games."
Kent State at home again on Saturday, Jan. 14 against Bowling Green at 7:00 pm. Call 330-672-2244 for ticket information for listen to the game on WNIR 100.1 FM to follow the action live if you can't make it in person.
Kent State - Miami Post Game Notes
Team Notes:
• Kent State out rebounded Miami 24-14 in the second half and forced the RedHawks into 0-8 from three
• Since the start of the 2003-04 season (last 7+years) Kent State is 64-7 at home against MAC opponents
• Kent State's nine turnovers tonight marked the fourth time in the last five games they have less than 10
• Kent State has now won five of the eight games when they have trailed at half time
• The Golden Flashes are 8-1 this season when shooting more free throws than the opponent
Individual Notes:
• Season high 23 points for Justin Greene
• First 20 point game this year for Greene
• Kent State is 15-2 all-time when Greene scored 20+
• Greene with two blocks to move into third place all-time on Kent State's career list with 109
• Michael Porrini had a career best 4 blocked shots
• Porrini was 0-9 from the field but also had 9 rebounds, 8 assists, and 2 steals and gave Kent State a team best +9 advantage in points scored while he was in the game
Kent State - Miami Post Game Quotes
Kent State Junior Guard Randal Holt
On closing out the game
"We all looked at each other in the eyes and said, "We're not losing." We lost at Buffalo and took a tough loss and gave them the game. To come out tonight and lose on the home court would kind of vanish our season from the beginning stand point. We just wanted to come out and do whatever we had to win."
On the fan atmosphere
"It helps our game a lot. We all live for that type of moment. The games are the fun part of our season. Practice is the hard part, but the games are fun. For our fans to come out and give them something to cheer about and get loud, that means a lot to us. We feed off of that."
Kent State Senior Forward Justin Greene
On Randal Holt and rebounding
"He's probably the smallest guy, but every night 9 out of 10 times he has the biggest heart out there. He's not afraid to get in there and mix it up. The whole game, Miami was beating us to the long rebounds and that kept them in the lead most of the game. I think we cleaned it up the last five minutes or so. We played Kent State basketball down the stretch. We did what we had to do and we got it done."
On Saturday's game and future games
"Anytime you have a home game, you have to win it, especially if you have ambitions of winning the league. That's exactly what we are all about, winning the league. We have to protect home court. We let one slip on the road last Saturday. We know that to win the league you have to win all of your home games and try to steal about four or five on the road. That's what we're trying to do, we have to protect home court."
Kent State Head Coach Rob Senderoff
On the win:
"When we needed to make plays on the defensive end and when we needed to get defensive rebounds, we seemed to come up with all of them. Our kids did a phenomenal job just not giving up, staying with it and finding a way to win."
Coach Senderoff on MAC wins:
"Every win is important, especially every win at home. You can't lose home games in this league, it's too tough to win on the road to afford to lose home games."
