Kent State Outlasts Ball State 64-61 in Overtime
2/6/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Golden Flashes regain sole possession of first place in the MAC East
KENT, Ohio - A tip-in by senior Haminn Quaintance (Sarasota, Fla. / Jacksonville Univ.) with seconds left in overtime was enough to propel the Kent State men's basketball team past Ball State 64-61 on Wednesday night at the M.A.C. Center. The win, Kent State's first overtime game of the year, moves the Golden Flashes to 18-5 overall and 7-2 in the Mid-American Conference while dropping Ball State to 3-18 and 2-7.
With Akron and Ohio both losing on Wednesday, Kent State now sits alone on top of the MAC's East Division.
Junior Al Fisher (Pennsauken, N.J. / Redlands C.C.) led four double-digit scorers for Kent State with 17 points and four assists while
Quaintance grabbed a career-high 16 rebounds to go along with 12 points.
With the game tied at 49 at the end of regulation, the Flashes and Cardinals traded clutch baskets for much of the extra five minutes of action. Anthony Newell hit two free throws to give BSU a 61-58 lead with 32 second left in overtime. Fisher closed the gap to one on KSU's next possession before sophomore Rodriquez Sherman (Indianapolis, Ind. / Ben Davis) came up with a huge steal when the Cardinals tried to inbound the ball. Sherman's swipe led to the game winning tip-in by Quaintance with 12 seconds left. Newell had one last shot to win the game for Ball State drawing a foul with four seconds left, but missed both attempts.
Senior Mike Scott (Indianapolis, Ind. / Northwest) secured the second miss and accounted for the final margin with two more free throws. Scott finished his night a perfect 8-8 from the foul line and totaled 14 points. The Golden Flashes shot a season best 92.0 (23-25) from the foul line hitting the last 17, including 9-9 in the extra period.
"Last year, that (free throws) was a major issue with this team," Scott said. "Guys just have so much more confidence this year. Everybody's been working on it during practice and just stepping up to the line and knocking them down when they have to. I think that's what really helped us win this game."
Sophomore Chris Singletary (Chicago, Ill. (Farragut/Florida Prep (Fla.)) scored seven of Kent State's 15 points in overtime and shot a team best 9-9 (5-5 in OT) from the foul line for the game.
The Flashes' defense, which forced eight first-half turnovers, held the BSU offense in check during the opening 20 minutes of play.
Thanks in part to five blocks and two steals by Kent State, Ball State was held to just 29.2 percent from the field in the opening stanza. The Flashes defense also held the Cardinals without a field goal for the final 7:18 of the first half.
Scott connected on his first two shots of the game as he paced the Flashes with 10 first-half points. Even with Scott's early offense, Kent State found itself trailing by four (10-6) before Rashad Woods (Houston, Texas (Lee College) (Westbury) came off the bench to hit consecutive three-pointers that sparked a 9-6 run to give the Flashes an 18-16 lead before going into the break ahead 25-20.
The second half saw both teams make huge runs. First it was Kent State which built on a five-point halftime lead to go up by 13 largely due to Quaintance and Singletary. However, Ball State would answer with a 21-2 run that gave them a 47-41 lead with under five minutes to play.
Kent State found themselves down two before Fisher once again made a save. With 25 seconds left, Fisher made a drive and drew a foul then connected on both foul shots to force overtime. The two foul shots gave Fisher 11 points in the second half.
Ball State was led by Melvin Goins who scored 21 points including a remarkable 5-5 from three. Newell added 20 points and 12 rebound for the Cardinals.
The Flashes shot just 33.9 percent while committing 15 turnovers. However, Kent State made things just as rough on Ball State. The Cardinals were forced into 13 turnovers while shooting just 39.3 percent. KSU finished the night with a 43-35 rebounding advantage.
"It's funny," Singletary said, "No matter how bad we play our how many turnovers we have at the end of the game, we always put ourselves in position to win, no matter what. We always find a way to come together and find a way to win. Tonight, we just gutted it out and did what we're supposed to do as far as coming up to the line and making our free throws, getting a stop when we needed to, or getting a key rebound."
Kent State will be in action again on Saturday when Northern Illinois comes to M.A.C. Center at 2 p.m.
NOTES: The 13-0 at home is the best start for the Golden Flashes in a season at the M.A.C. Center ... The 13 wins equal a school record for home wins (1998-99 & 1999-2000, 13-1) ... Head Coach Jim Christian celebrated his 43rd birthday, Christian is 4-0 on his birthday in his career ... Mike Scott has made 17 straight free throws and 34 of his last 35 ... The Golden Flashes are shooting .797 (149-187) from the foul line in the last eight games.
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