Kent State University
Fairmont State
Kent State Men's Basketball Hosts Fairmont State As Part Of Sunday Doubleheader
12/29/2012 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
View full game notes in .pdf
Kent State (7-5) will attempt to complete a perfect 3-0 homestand when it closes out 2012 by hosting Fairmont State (5-2) on Dec. 30 at the M.A.C. Center.
After back-to-back wins over Saint Francis and Arkansas State last week, the Golden Flashes return from an eight-day holiday layoff. The game is part of a Sunday doubleheader that will feature the Kent State women's team hosting Robert Morris at 3:30 p.m.
Randal Holt recovered from a brief shooting slump to score 19 points in the win over Arkansas State on Dec. 22, while Chris Evans scored 17 in the victory over Saint Francis. The senior duo have combined to account for 41.6-percent of Kent State's scoring during the 7-5 start. Evans lead the team in scoring at 16.1 per game with Holt at 13.4.
Fairmont State boasts a high-major talent in point guard Malik Stith, who transferred from St. John's. Stith is averaging 14.3 points and 4.0 assists per game this season for a up-tempo offense that has averaged 87.1 points per game during a 5-2 start.
"Fairmont State is a very good Division II team," said Kent State head coach Rob Senderoff. "Stith is a Division I transfer from St. John's who is probably the fastest guard we ahve played this season. They have a four man who originally signed at St. Bonaventure. They have a guy returning at the wing named Isaac Thornton, who averaged 21 per game for them last year. They have an NAIA All-American transfer at the five.
"They are very fast, very athletic and have the ability to score a lot of points. Jerrod Calhoun is a Cleveland native in his first year as their head coach, and he coached under Bob Huggins at West Virginia. He has brought in a in a lot of transfers and new players who are very, very good. This is going to be a really big challenge for us. We are going to have to play very well."
Junior Brendan Cooper, a transfer from Lakeland Community College and native of Parma, leads the Fighting Falcons at 18.4 points per game and is one of five players averaging double-digit points this season. He is also one of seven Fairmont State players from Ohio on the roster. Fairmont State is located in Fairmont, W.Va.
Sunday is the first meeting between the two schools.
QUICK FLASHES
- Kent State's two seniors Chris Evans (16.1 ppg) & Randal Holt (13.4 ppg) combine to average 29.5 points per game which accounts for 41.6 percent of the Golden Flashes' scoring and is the third highest-scoring duo in the Mid-American Conference this season, trailing Rian Pearson and Julius Brown of Toledo and Jordon Crawford and A'uston Calhoun of Bowling Green
- Holt knocked down three three-pointers last week against Arkansas State to move ahead of 2012 Olympian Nate Reinking for 4th all-time at Kent State (186)
- Evans is one of two players to rank among the top 10 in the Mid-American Conference in scoring, rebounding, and shooting percentage
- Kent State holds a +6.0 advantage in second chance points per game so far this season. The Flashes are averaging 14.8 second chance points while allowing 8.8 points per game
- The Golden Flashes are averaging 37.3 points in the second halves of games this season. In the first half Kent State is averaging just 30.6 points
