Bowling Green Snaps Kent State's Seven-Game Streak
1/26/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Box Score
KENT, Ohio Bowling Green was nearly perfect from the foul line and that proved to be the difference as the Falcons, despite being out-rebounded and committing eight more turnovers, handed the Kent State University mens basketball team its first Mid-American Conference defeat of the season, 79-74, tonight (Jan. 26) at the M.A.C. Center, snapping the Golden Flashes seven-game winning streak.
Bowling Green (8-10, 4-4 MAC) connected on 34-of-35 from the line, including a perfect 13-of-13 by Mawel Sowel en route to his 20-point, 10 rebound night. The Falcons were credited with just 38 field goal attempts making 19 for an even 50 percent and turned the ball over 19 times but were able to stop a two-game losing streak with a 97.1% success rate at the stripe.
Bowling Green jumped out early to a four point lead and after Kent State went on a 13-5 spurt behind a pair of three-pointers by Armon Gates to take its own four-point advantage, the two teams battled to a standstill for the remainder of the half. Neither team took more than a three-point lead and the back-and-forth contest was tied six times in the period, which ended with Bowling Green ahead by a point, 32-31.
The Falcons extended the lead to six in the opening minutes of the first half only to see Kent State answer back with a 6-0 spurt, including four of Kevin Warzynskis game-high 25 points, to tie the game. However, Kent State could not pull ahead and the Falcons kept distancing themselves from the Flashes at the line.
Bowling Green hit 24 straight free throws to close the game, wrapping up a 29-for-30 second half performance. The Flashes continued to battle and looked to make a late run when a Warzynski three-pointer cut the lead to just four with a little over five minutes left.
But on the ensuing possession, John Floyds desperation three with a hand in his face from the top of the key as the shot clock buzzer sounded fell through the net proved to be the dagger, putting the Falcons back up seven. Kent State again got within three points with 1:20 to go on the heels of another 6-0 spurt, but Soler hit six free throws, Floyd four and Steven Wright two more in the final minute to seal the Falcons second straight win and third in the last four contests in Kent.
Warzynskis 25 points off the bench helped Kent State to a 47-16 edge in bench scoring, but the Flashes shot just 43.1% as a team (22-of-51). DeAndre Haynes added 18 points and seven assists while Gates added 15 points off the bench, hitting on 4-of-6 from beyond the arc. Outside of Haynes, the other Kent State starters combined for just nine points.
"We never got into a good rhythm either offensively or defensively," head coach Jim Christian said. "We didnt get any consecutive stops and the end of the game we lost our composures. Its something we have to learn from and improve on as a basketball team."
In addition to Soler, three other Falcons reached double figures. Martin Samarco tallied 18, Floyd 14 and Wright 13.
Mike Scott grabbed nine rebounds and Warzynski pulled down eight boards as the Flashes edged BG on the glass, 27-25. Twelve of those 27 rebounds were on the offensive end, but the Flashes converted those to just nine second-chance points.
The Flashes wrap up their stretch of four games in eight days on Sunday afternoon, Jan. 29, with a 2 p.m. home game against the University at Buffalo.
GAME NOTES: Kent State has lost just 19 home games since the start of the 1997-98 season, with three coming against Bowling Green... The loss is just the 11th in Christians career when Kent State scores 70 points or more the Flashes are now 60-11 in such contests since 2002-03... Warzynskis 25-point effort tied his career high, which was previously set during his career at Charleston Southern in a game against Radford, Jan. 25, 2003... In two career games against Bowling Green, Warzynski is averaging 24.0 points... Kent State registered double-digits in steals for the third straight game, posting 12 swipes... Bowling Green now leads the all-time series between the teams 77-58.
