Kent State University
11-7, 2-2MAC
Akron
13-4, 4-0MAC
Akron takes round one in its rivalry with Kent State, using a second-half comeback to claim a 71-67 win
1/19/2013 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Box score (.pdf)
KENT, Ohio – Back-to-back threes by Alex Abreu and Brian Walsh combined with improved free-throw shooting by Zeke Marshall helped Akron come from behind for a 71-67 rivalry win at Kent State on Saturday.
The Golden Flashes thrilled a sellout crowd of 6,313 at the M.A.C. Center by taking a 36-26 lead into the break behind a 16-0 run late in the first half. The tide turned behind a 31-13 rebounding advantage for Akron in the second half, including 17 offensive rebounds leading to 16 second-chance points.
"And all of that said, we were up by three points with (almost) two minutes to go and didn't get stops," said Kent State head coach Rob Senderoff. "And then we just didn't get stops."
Two free throws by Kris Brewer put Kent State ahead 63-60 with 2:28 to play. Abreu quickly tied the game with a three from the top of the key at the 2:18 mark. On the Zips next trip down the floor, Walsh drilled a three to put Akron ahead 66-63.
Brewer answered with a three-pointer of his own to deadlock the game again at 63-63, but a string of foul shots by Marshall at the end helped the Zips pull away. The Akron 7-footer was just 7-for-14 from the line on the day, but he connected on 5-for-8 in the final 1:01. Kent State was 0-for-2 from the field and 1-for-2 from the foul line with one turnover during the same stretch.
Marshall finished with a team-high 17 points to go with 11 rebounds and four blocked shots for the Zips, who improved to 13-4 overall and 4-0 in Mid-American Conference play.
"Zeke didn't shoot the ball well, but with a minute to go he went to the line and made them both," said Senderoff. "My guys competed, but we didn't get it done at the end the way we needed to. Akron did. They deserve credit for making the plays down the stretch.
"If we get a stop when we are up three, it may be a different outcome. We didn't, and that's why they are a very good team. They make big plays when they need to. We went under back-to-back flare screens, and Abreu and Walsh hit big shots. I've seen them do that many times."
Demetrius Treadwell added 15 points and a game-high 16 rebounds as Akron won the rebounding battle 51-39. At halftime, the Golden Flashes held a 26-20 advantage on the glass. But that slipped away quickly.
Rebounding had been a big part of Kent State's back-to-back road wins at Buffalo and Ball State last week – a two-game winning streak that demonstrated the Golden Flashes' resilience after a frustrating home loss to Toledo in the MAC opener.
"We won those games by playing hard for 40 minutes and rebounding," said Kent State senior Chris Evans. "Today we didn't rebound the way we did the last couple of games … They hit two dagger threes that really hurt us, and they killed us on the offensive glass … If we don't rebound the ball, most likely we are going to lose."
Evans led Kent State with 19 points and seven rebounds in 35 minutes. He also finished with two steals and two assists.
Brewer and Darren Goodsen added 14 points each. All of Goodson's points came in a breakout first half that saw him go 5-for-6 from the field and 2-for-2 from the three-point arc.
With posts Melvin Tabb and Mark Henniger in foul trouble for the second consecutive game, Kent State found productive minutes from true freshman Khaliq Spicer, who grabbed three rebounds in eight minutes of work and was on the floor for part of Kent State's 18-2 run to close the first half.
Kent State (11-7, 2-2) will try to bounce back on Wednesday during a visit to Bowling Green.
"I feel like our team is very resilient," said Senderoff. "I think on Wednesday we'll really see how resilient we are … It is not easy to bounce back from a loss like this because our guys were really emotionally invested in this one. We played hard. Harder than we had at home in a long time … But I expect them to be resilient and come back and play hard again at Bowling Green."
Highlights
Coach Senderoff
Chris Evans and Darren Goodson
