Kent State Falls In MAC Quarters To Ohio, 81-64
3/11/2010 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
CLEVELAND — Kent State now knows what it's like to taste defeat as the No. 1 seed in the Mid-American Conference tournament as the Golden Flashes (23-9) fell to ninth-seeded Ohio (19-14) in quarterfinal action Thursday night at Quicken Loans Arena. The Flashes had been 9-0 in their three previous stints as the top seed.
Senior Chris Singletary (Chicago, Ill.) led Kent State with 19 points, three rebounds and three assists, but was just 7-for-16 at the charity stripe. Junior Rodriguez Sherman (Indianapolis, Ind.) and senior Anthony Simpson (Rockford, Ill.) both added 12 points, while sophomore Justin Greene (Brooklyn, N.Y.) grabbed a game-high nine rebounds.
Simply put, Kent State was unable to overcome a sluggish first half and a standout performance from the Bobcats' junior guard Armon Bassett.
The Flashes trailed, 40-24, at intermission after shooting just 25.0 percent from the floor (8-32) in the first 20 minutes. Meanwhile, Kent State had no answer for Bassett, who finished with a career-high 38 points while also dishing out a game-high seven assists. He was 9-for-17 from the floor and a perfect 16-for-16 at the free throw line (three more free throws than KSU made as a team).
DeVaughn Washington joined Bassett in double-figures with 19 points on a perfect 8-for-8 effort from the floor, while pulling down eight rebounds.
Kent State didn't go down without a fight. Trailing 46-33 with 16:49 left, the Flashes proceeded to go on an 13-3 run over the next six minutes to trim the deficit to just three points. Simpson started the burst with four consecutive points, while freshman Randal Holt (Bedford, Ohio) added five points in under a minute.
However, the Golden Flashes appeared to run out of gas as the Bobcats regained control of the game with a 13-2 run over the next three minutes. Bassett scored all but the first point of the burst, capping it off with a deep three-pointer.
The Flashes mustered one more run, outpacing Ohio 12-4 over a three-minute stretch, trimming the deficit to 66-60 with 4:42 remaining on an old-fashioned three-point play from Singletary. A quick 8-0 answer from the Bobcats (six more from Bassett) effectively put an end to Kent State's chances.
Ohio shot an even 50.0 percent from the floor for the game (24-48), while limiting the Flashes to a 35.8 percent effort (24-67). The Bobcats also held a 42-35 advantage on the boards.
As the regular season MAC Champions, Kent State now awaits the announcement of the NIT field Sunday night (March 14).
Senior Chris Singletary (Chicago, Ill.) led Kent State with 19 points, three rebounds and three assists, but was just 7-for-16 at the charity stripe. Junior Rodriguez Sherman (Indianapolis, Ind.) and senior Anthony Simpson (Rockford, Ill.) both added 12 points, while sophomore Justin Greene (Brooklyn, N.Y.) grabbed a game-high nine rebounds.
Simply put, Kent State was unable to overcome a sluggish first half and a standout performance from the Bobcats' junior guard Armon Bassett.
The Flashes trailed, 40-24, at intermission after shooting just 25.0 percent from the floor (8-32) in the first 20 minutes. Meanwhile, Kent State had no answer for Bassett, who finished with a career-high 38 points while also dishing out a game-high seven assists. He was 9-for-17 from the floor and a perfect 16-for-16 at the free throw line (three more free throws than KSU made as a team).
DeVaughn Washington joined Bassett in double-figures with 19 points on a perfect 8-for-8 effort from the floor, while pulling down eight rebounds.
Kent State didn't go down without a fight. Trailing 46-33 with 16:49 left, the Flashes proceeded to go on an 13-3 run over the next six minutes to trim the deficit to just three points. Simpson started the burst with four consecutive points, while freshman Randal Holt (Bedford, Ohio) added five points in under a minute.
However, the Golden Flashes appeared to run out of gas as the Bobcats regained control of the game with a 13-2 run over the next three minutes. Bassett scored all but the first point of the burst, capping it off with a deep three-pointer.
The Flashes mustered one more run, outpacing Ohio 12-4 over a three-minute stretch, trimming the deficit to 66-60 with 4:42 remaining on an old-fashioned three-point play from Singletary. A quick 8-0 answer from the Bobcats (six more from Bassett) effectively put an end to Kent State's chances.
Ohio shot an even 50.0 percent from the floor for the game (24-48), while limiting the Flashes to a 35.8 percent effort (24-67). The Bobcats also held a 42-35 advantage on the boards.
As the regular season MAC Champions, Kent State now awaits the announcement of the NIT field Sunday night (March 14).
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