Kent State Wins Third Straight With 67-60 Victory Central Michigan
1/31/2012 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Randal Holt leads four Golden Flashes in double figures with 23 points
Box Score (.PDF)
Mt. PLEASANT, Mich. – Kent State (15-6; 5-3 MAC) extended its winning streak to three straight by picking up its second road win in four days with a tightly contested 67-60 win over Central Michigan (7-14; 2-6 MAC) in a Mid-American Conference contest at McGuirk Arena on Tuesday night.
Junior guard Randal Holt (Cleveland, Ohio) led four Golden Flashes in double figures scoring a game high 23 points with an impressive 7-10 night from the field and a 4-5 performance from three. Holt, who had 15 points in the first half, hit a game tying three-pointer in the final seconds of the period to knot the game at 32-32 going into the break. Kent State carried that momentum into the second half using a 14-3 stretch in the first six minutes to take control of the game. Reigning MAC East Player of the Week, junior forward Chris Evans (Chesapeake, Va.) hit two three-pointers during the stretch as he scored double figures off the bench for the fifth time in six games finishing with 12 points.
Central Michigan would answer the Kent State run by scoring the next nine points to trim the margin back down to 46-44 with just over 10 minutes remaining. Holt then delivered by connecting from the right wing for his fourth three-pointer of the game to end a four-plus minute drought without a field goal for Kent State.
The Golden Flashes where not out of the woods yet however. The Chippewas pulled back to with a single point after a three from Austin McBroom (19 points) at 7:22, but this time Kent State answered with defense. After McBroom's three, the Golden Flashes strung together six consecutive stops on Central Michigan while slowing building up a seven point cushion. Kent State then sealed the game from the foul line hitting 7-10 in the final two minutes.
Holt and Evans were joined in double figures by senior forward Justin Greene (Brooklyn, N.Y.) and senior guard Michael Porrini (Massillon, Ohio). Greene was 6-7 from the foul line for the game while totaling 12 points, eight rebounds and three assists. Porrini, meanwhile had 10 points on 4-7 from the field and 2-4 from three.
Kent State returns home on Saturday to host Western Michigan. Game time 7:00 pm. Call 330-672-2244 for tickets. If you can't make it to the game follow the action live on the radio at WNIR 100.1 FM or listen online at www.kentstatesports.com.
Kent State - Central Michigan Post Game Notes
Team Notes:
• 27th consecutive win over a MAC West Division opponent for Kent State
• Kent State improves to 12-2 this season when Randal Holt makes more than one three-pointer in a game (4-5 tonight)
• Fourth straight game with 20+ points off turnovers for Kent State (21 tonight)
• Kent State improves to 9-0 this season when making 15+ free throws (17-21 tonight)
Individual Notes:
• Randal Holt leads the team with three 20+ point games this year. He has seven in his career
• Ninth straight double-digit scoring game for Justin Greene (12 points)
• Greene (6-7 tonight) is 18-21 (85.7 percent) from the foul line in the last three games combined
Kent State - Central Michigan Post Game Quotes
Kent State Junior Guard Randal Holt
On his offensive production:
"Coach Senderoff does a great job of getting me involved just like he does everybody else. So, that's big for me and my team as well."
On how big it is to win on the road:
"Well, that's the positive we have in our situation. We have six of our next nine games at home. We're a very good home team, and we're trying to get it going on the road. That's going to be big. Hopefully, we don't lose in front of our home fans, and we just try to give them something to see."
On returning home:
"That will be big for us. We've been on the road for five days. So, we've got to get back to the MAC Center, and hopefully continue with the way we've been playing."
Kent State Coach Rob Senderoff:
On the play of Randal Holt tonight:
"Randal has been playing great the last month. He had a huge game tonight. We needed every point that he gave us, and there were a couple of times that we knew we could get him open for some easy looks. He obviously knocked them down and it got him going a little bit. He's a guy who can score, and he's been scoring for us all year. Tonight was his night."
On the defense:
"I think for us to have success we have to defend, we have to cause turnovers. It's another game that we held a team under 40 percent field goal percentage and (got) the points off turnovers. That's when we're at our best - in transition, pushing the ball - but the only way to do that is to either get steals or get rebounds. We're not the greatest rebounding team in the world. So, when we get steals, that's how we run."
On putting the game away:
"That's a big thing for us. It's something we talk about a lot. When other teams go on a run, you've got to answer. You're never going to play perfect and be able to stop them every possession, but we had built the lead up. They hit a couple of threes, and then we found a way to get to the free throw line or get a couple of easy baskets. That's what you do when you're trying to win games. Usually, when you win them, you find a way to get a couple of those buckets.
On the free-throw shooting:
"That's what we need (shooting 17-21 at the stripe). Justin Greene was 6-of-7, Randal (Holt) was 5-of-6, Scootie (Carlton Guyton) hit two big ones, and that's what you need to do if you're going to win on the road, especially when you turn the ball over a lot, which we did tonight. You need to make your free throws, and we did."
