Kent State University
2-1
Chicago State
1-2
| Team | 1 | 2 | F |
|---|---|---|---|
| Chicago St. | 32 | 31 | 63 |
| Kent State | 42 | 50 | 92 |
Devareaux Manley's shooting display leads Kent State to a 92-63 win over Chicago State
11/16/2012 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
KENT, Ohio - Chris Evans stuffed another stat sheet and Devareaux Manley caught fire from long distance as Kent State cruised to a 92-63 win over Chicago State at the M.A.C. Center in Friday night's opener of the Joe Cipriano Nebraska Classic.
The bounce-back win following a frustrating loss to Temple three days earlier improved the Golden Flashes' record to 2-1 on the season. It also offered a positive sign that this year's young roster can learn quickly from its mistakes and find success with some swift adjustments.
Kent State cut down on its turnovers, committing just six against a Chicago State defense that had been forcing an average of 27.5 in its first two games of the season.
"For us to have six turnovers coming off of Temple when we had 21, that's a great job," said Kent State head coach Rob Senderoff. "That's something we emphasized as being very important. And we forced 20 turnovers. I think that's the way our defense will be … when we are scrambling and flying around."
Evans trimmed his turnover total from eight against Temple to just one against the Chicago State on a night when he also totaled 14 points, eight rebounds, four assists, four steals and a blocked shot in just 22 minutes of work.
Manley led the Golden Flashes with a career-high 20 points on a night when just about everything he fired at the rim found the bottom of the net. The sophomore put on a second half show, hitting 5-of-7 three-point attempts after the break.
After going scoreless in Kent State's first two games while going 0-for-5 from the field and 0-for-4 from the arc, Manley admitted taking to heart questions from his coaches and teammates who wondered, "how often are you getting in the gym and putting up shots?"
"The first couple of games I didn't shoot the way I'm supposed to," said Manley, who finished his night shooting 7-for-10 from the field and 6-of-8 from three. "It was finally good to hit that first one as soon as I came in off the bench. It felt like it was going to be a good night for me, so I kept being patient."
The Golden Flashes were patient the entire second half, working for three-pointers on drive-and-kick and other inside-out actions instead of settling for long jumpers off the dribble. After taking a 42-32 lead into the break, Kent State broke the game open by connecting on a combined nine of 16 from three-point range in the final 20 minutes.
Senderoff was impressed by the shot selection in the second half, and in particular with the performance of Manley.
"I'm happy for Dev," said Senderoff. "It's funny because he shot the ball really well in practice and he's worked hard, but he was really, really struggling in games early on. I had a short leash with him … When a player is not happy with his playing time, and I'm sure he wasn't, that's how you are supposed to respond. That says, 'you know what coach? You have to play me."
Randal Holt (15 points), Mark Henniger (11 points) and Bryson Pope (10 points) also scored in double figures for Kent State.
Henniger converted five of his six shots while establishing a new career high in scoring He also added four rebounds and a blocked shot during an active 21 minutes in the post.
"It was a great game from Mark," said Senderoff. "I would hope his confidence level is at an all-time high. He is playing well. And he played against a good player. Jeremy Robinson is a very good player, and Mark held his own versus him."
Robinson and Matt Ross led the Cougars with 14 points each.
Twelve of the 14 players who saw action for Kent State reached the scoring column as the Golden Flashes' bench recorded a season-high 46 points.
Kent State is back in action on Sunday at 2 p.m. when Valparaiso visits the M.A.C. Center in the second of four games in the Joe Cipriano Nebraska Classic.
POSTGAME PRESS CONFERENCE: Devareaux Manley
POSTGAME PRESS CONFERENCE: Head Coach Rob Senderoff
POSTGAME NOTES:
Team Notes:
• The Kent State bench scored a season high 46 points tonight after scoring 15 points in each of the first two games
• The last time Kent State had five players score in double figures was Jan. 15, 2012 vs Northern Illinois
• Kent State had a 20-8 advantage in second chance points & has a 40-14 advantage over opponents in second chance in the last two games
• Kent State shot 9-16 (56 percent) from three in the second half
Individual Notes:
• Devareaux Manley scored a career high 20 points and was 6-8 from three
• Manley's six three-pointers are the most by a Kent State player since Randal Holt had six vs Miami Jan. 23, 2011
• Manley entered the game with 11 career three-pointers in 20 games
• Mark Henniger matched a career high with 11 points
• Kris Brewer had a career high six assists
