Kent State University
6-5
Saint Francis (Pa.)
0-10
Kent State Gets Back To Winning Ways With A 77-48 Win Over Saint Francis
12/20/2012 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Box Score (PDF)
Kent State got back on the winning track with a 77-48 victory over Saint Francis on Thursday night at the M.A.C. Center.
Chris Evans' 17 points and nine-rebounds paced the Golden Flashes, who ended a three-game losing streak that seemed to last forever due to an 11-day layoff for finals. The last win for Kent State was back on Nov. 28 at Youngstown State.
"It had been a long time in terms of days," said Kent State head coach Rob Senderoff, whose team improved to 6-5 on the season. "It felt like an eternity since we had a good feeling. So it was great to get a win and now we have to come back in two days and get another before Christmas Break."
The Golden Flashes will host Arkansas State (6-4) on Saturday at 7 p.m. in the M.A.C. Center.
"We come back after winning by a pretty good margin, and we want to come back with the same defensive intensity and sharing the ball the way we did tonight," said Evans, who comverted 6-of-8 shots and narrowly missed his third double-double of the season. "If we do those things again, we'll come out with a win."
After shooting a combined 34-percent from the field in their three consecutive losses, the Golden Flashes spent the last 11 days working on ball movement as Senderoff tried to inspiring a desire to share the ball. The result was 15 assists on 23 made baskets and an assist-to-turnover ratio of better than two-to-one (15-7)
"What happens is when you stop trying to make up with individual plays, you end up with fewer turnovers," said Senderoff.
Returning to the starting point guard job for the first time since Nov. 18, Kris Brewer accounted for five of Kent State's assists while turning the ball over just once. He was also perfect on three shots from the field, including two threes on his way to 13 points.
"Tonight was the night that's going to get me going for Saturday and future games," said Brewer. "Coach wanted us to pass the ball and be unselfish. It's all we worked on in practice, sharing the ball … That helped us get back on our feet. This win really helps us."
Defense was the other focus in practice during the break for exams. That extra work showed as well as Kent State held Saint Francis without a field goal until Ronnie Drinnion flipped in a layup with 9:39 to play in the first half. The Golden Flashes led 23-1 before the Red Storm ended that 10-plus minute drought.
The 48 points scored by Saint Francis (0-10) were the fewest by a Kent State opponent this season, and by 12 points.
Earl Bown came off the bench to lead the Red Storm with 17 points while point guard Umar Shannon added 12.
Eleven different Golden Flashes reached the scoring column, including Bryson Pope who scored nine off the bench. Randal Holt and Mark Henniger finishied with eight points each.
Darren Goodson only scored two points, but he was a big contributor to Kent State's ball movement on offense and its hard work on defense. Goodson finished with three assists and no turnovers from the power forward position. He also added a blocked shot and a steel on defense. Like Brewer, Goodson made his first start since Nov. 18.
Kent State outscored Saint Francis 29-4 off of turnovers, 15-2 on second-chance points and 10-5 on the fast break.
The only downside to the Golden Flashes' night was Saint Francis' 33-30 advantage on the glass.
"The team we play on Saturday is very, very good and we will have to play even better than we did tonight," said Senderoff. "We'll have to play better especially on the glass because Arkansas State is very big and physical."
Highlights
Coach Senderoff
