Kent State University
2-0
Temple University
1-1
A Classic Tip-Off on ESPN As Kent State beats Temple, 81-77
11/11/2013 9:53:00 PM | Men's Basketball
PHILADELPHIA, Pa. – Kent State handled several runs by Temple and overcame the early nerves that come with playing in front of a national television audience on ESPN's Tip-Off Marathon to shock the Owls 81-77 in the Liacouras Center on Monday night.
"This was a great win for us. That goes without saying," said Kent State head coach Rob Senderoff, whose Golden Flashes improved to 2-0. "Any time you beat Temple, which is a team with so much tradition, with a coach like Fran Dunphy, who is one of the best coaches in the business, it is a great win. They don't lose very often on their home floor."
After trailing by as many as 10 points early and by eight in the opening minutes of the second half, the Golden Flashes battled back to take a 70-69 advantage with 4:35 to play on a layup by Mark Henniger. A clutch basket and a charge taken by Kris Brewer in the closing minutes helped the Flashes hold on to the lead the rest of the way.
Before floating in layup with 1:14 to play, his first field goal of the night. He then stood his ground draw a foul on Cummings with 20 seconds to play. After a steal in the backcourt, Cummings appeared to be heading for a layup that would have cut Kent State's 77-73 lead to just two points.
"I'm proud of Kris for being able to shake off what wasn't a great game for him and to be able to come up with two big plays at the end of the game that saved it," said Rob Senderoff. "If he had not taken the charge, I don't know what happens down the stretch. That's leadership being able to make plays like that when he hadn't been playing well."
The Flashes watched several other leaders step up down the stretch. Derek Jackson led the Kent State for the second game in a row with 17 points. He added six rebounds and connected on 3-of-4 from three-point range, including a buzzer-beater three-pointer at the first-half buzzer to trim Temple's lead to 42-38 at the break. The Owls had scored seven straight before Jackson's three three stemmed momentum just before halftime.
"This was our first road game and national TV is a big stage," said Jackson. "It took some time for everyone to get comfortable ... but after a few minutes had come and gone, we were fine."
Devareaux Manley matched Jackson's 17 points, bouncing back from a tough-shooting night in Friday's season opener to hit 5-of-9 from the field and 3-of-6 from three-point range. He also hit four free throws in the closing minute to help the Flashes secure the victory
When the Owls threatened to blow the game open early in the second half, sophomore Kellon Thomas came off and kept Kent State's hopes alive with several key baskets. Thomas finished with 11 points on 4-of-6 shooting.
Senior Darren Goodson shot just 4-for-13 shooting while scoring 12 points. But while his shots weren't falling, he set up his teammates for open jumpers with inside-out passes that led to four assists. Goodson also matched Jackson for a team-high six rebounds.
A 2-3 zone late forced Temple into some contested threes. The Owls made just 5-of-19 from the arc compared to Kent State's 11-for-22.
"We were going to have to give something up," said Senderoff. "In the first half we gave up so many layups on penetration or rolling to the basket. Or we'd send Cummings to the foul line. Given the choice in the second half, we decided to try to shrink the floor and make them have to penetrate and shoot as many contested jumpers as we can."
Cummings led Temple with 17 points. Anthony Lee added 16 points and 11 rebounds for the Owls, who dropped to 1-1.
Kent State travels to Seton Hall on Wednesday before opening up a seven-game homestand on Sunday against Saint Peter's
