Men's Basketball Opens MAC Tournament with Quarterfinal Win Against Bowling Green
3/12/2004 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Kent State opened the second half by scoring on 12 of its first 13 possessions, which propelled the Golden Flashes to a 48-point half, its highest scoring half since a 49-point second half against the Falcons Feb. 14.
With the win, Kent State improved to 12-3 all-time playing in Gund Arena, and the Golden Flashes advanced to meet the winner of today's Miami-Ball State quarterfinal, Friday, March 12, at 8:30 p.m.
Sophomore guard DeAndre Haynes led the Kent State attack, scoring a career-high 26 points on 10-of-14 shooting, while adding four assists, five rebounds and three steals. Junior forward Jason Edwin hit 9-of-16 shots, including three three-pointers, en route to 22 points, more than he had scored in the three previous games combined.
Kent State broke open the game early in the second half. Trailing 41-39 with 17:03 to play, Haynes scored on a fast-break layup to knot the score. From there, KSU went on a 13-0 run, holding Bowling Green scoreless for more than five minutes, to take a 52-41 lead with 11:48 remaining.
In the run, Kent State went 6-for-7 from the field, and Edwin hit a pair of three pointers. But the key to the run was the Flashes' defense, which limited BGSU to 0-for-5 from the floor and two turnovers. After the run, Kent State never led by less than six points for the remainder of the contest, outscoring Bowling Green 42-21 over the game's final 14:39. Up to that point, the game had featured seven lead changes and seven ties.
Kent State improved to 3-0 this season when two-or-more players score at least 20 points, doing so for the first time since senior center John Edwards (24) and senior guard Eric Haut (21) did so against Akron Jan. 31. Edwards tallied his second career double-double today, registering 11 points and 11 rebounds, which also is the fourth double-digit rebounding effort of his career.
Senior forward Bryan Bedford totaled eight points for Kent State, while freshman forward Scott Cutley had four points, six rebounds, five assists and four steals. John Reimold led Bowling Green with 16 points.
Kent State's semifinal game tomorrow, against either Miami or Ball State, will be telecast to a regional audience on Fox Sports Net.
NOTES: Kent State scored more than 70 points for the first time in six games, since a 86-65 win vs. Marshall (Feb. 18)... The Golden Flashes were 5-of-7 (.714) from three-point range in the second half after going 3-of-10 in the first half... Kent State shot over .500 from the field for the first time in nine games and just the second time in the last 14 games... Haynes averaged 19.7 points in three games against Bowling Green this season... The Flashes have now won four straight against BGSU and 10 of the last 11 meetings.
