Kent State University
3-1
Saint Peter's University
0-3
Flashes run away after halftime to a 75-58 win over Saint Peter's
11/17/2013 4:32:00 PM | Men's Basketball
KENT, Ohio — Mark Henniger and Melvin Tabb dominated in the post as Kent State ran away from Saint Peter's in the second half of a 75-58 win on Sunday at the M.A.C. Center.
The Golden Flashes outscored the Peacocks 42-29 in the final 20 minutes and seized control during a rare stretch that saw head coach Rob Senderoff play the 6-foot-9 Henniger in tandem with the 6-9 Tabb.
"Melvin is playing the (power forward) spot a little bit now, and that's nice because it gives us two big bodies on the floor at the same time," said Henniger. "Melvin is athletic and can take people off of the drive. That helps to open up the court for us."
Henniger scored 13 points on perfect 5-for-5 shooting from the field. He also grabbed four rebounds and blocked two shots while Tabb added another nine points and a team-best five rebounds.
The Flashes also found 12 points and a team-high five assists from Darren Goodson at the power-forward spot.
As a team, Kent State out-scored Saint Peter's 36-18 in the paint.
Even as the production from the post positions improved, Kent State continued to find key contributions from its backcourt. Kris Brewer and Kellon Thomas combined for five assists in a turnover-free game from the point-guard position. Brewer scored 12 points, including four on driving layups with the left hand as Kent State pulled away late.
Devareaux Manley showed his versatility as he added four rebounds to a nine-point afternoon. All of his points came on 3-for-4 shooting from the three-point arc. Derek Jackson also stuffed several stat lines with eight points, three rebounds, two assists and two steals.
"Everyone who played contributed for us," said Senderoff, whose Flashes improved to 3-1. "I was most proud of the way all of our guys were committed to rebounding the basketball. Saint Peter's is a very good offensive rebounding team, and we kept them from hurting us in that area."
Kent State won the rebounding battle 35-24 while limiting the Peacocks to just 10 second-chance points on eight offensive rebounds.
Center Quadir Welton and power forward Marvin Dominique came into the game averaging better than 10 rebounds each for Saint Peter's. They combined for only nine rebounds on Sunday.
Saint Peter's led by seven points early in the first half thanks in large part to 5-for-7 shooting from three-point range in the opening eight minutes. The Peacocks closed the half by missing eight consecutive threes and finished the game making 8-of-24 from the arc.
Dominique led Saint Peter's with 15 points and six rebounds. Trevis Whyche and Welton added 11 and 10 points, respectively.
Kent State continues its seven-game homestand on Thursday when it hosts Western Carolina at 7 p.m. at the M.A.C. Center as part of the Coaches vs. Cancer Classic. The tournament continues with home games against USC Upstate on Friday at 7 p.m. and Niagara on Saturday at 7 p.m.
