Men's Basketball to Host Cleveland State for Saturday Night Showdown

Game Notes (.pdf)

Kent State (9-2) hosts local rival Cleveland State Saturday (Dec. 28) night at 7 p.m. at the M.A.C. Center on campus, where it owns a 7-1 record on the season. This will be the first home game for the Golden Flashes since December 4 and the final one as part of the non-conference schedule.

The Golden Flashes were able to shake off early rust from a 16-day layoff to escape with a 58-54 victory at the College of Charleston last Saturday. Despite shooting just 5-for-25 from the field, the Flashes held a 17-16 halftime lead. Kris Brewer scored 14 of his game-high 20 points in the second half and converted a conventional three-point play with 1:03 remaining to break a 50-50 tie and spark an 8-4 Flashes run to end the game.

The Mid-American Conference's second-highest scoring team, Kent State's offense has not been up to par since the calendar turned to December. The Flashes have posted their lowest scoring total of the year in each of the last three games and have recorded three of their four lowest shooting percentages. Fortunately, they have turned it up on the defensive end. Opponents are averaging 57.0 points per game on 38-percent shooting and committing more than 16 turnovers per contest over the last three games.

Junior point guard Kris Brewer leads a balanced offense in scoring (12.2 ppg), as junior guard Derek Jackson (10.8 ppg) and senior forward Darren Goodson (10.5 ppg) join him in double-figures. One of the most versatile frontcourt players in the MAC, Goodson leads the team in assists (32) and is tied for second in rebounding (4.3 rpg). Forward Mark Henniger has blossomed in his senior season, leading the team in free throw percentage (.952), field goal percentage (.651) and rebounding (5.1 rpg) while double his scoring (8.7 ppg) from last season.

Getting contributions from several bench players early in the season has allowed third-year head coach Rob Senderoff to use an 11-man rotation in most games. Eight players have scored in double-figures and seven are averaging more than 5.0 points per game. This depth has also allowed Senderoff to keep players fresh. Only two players are averaging 25 minutes per game and 10 players have already logged at least 100 minutes on the season.

Cleveland State (7-6) is led by former Kent State head coach Gary Waters, who is in his seventh season back in Northeast Ohio. The Vikings enter off an 89-42 beatdown of NCAA Division III La Roche (Pa.) on Monday. The Vikings have won just one of their last four games vs. Division I opponents and won the same 1-3 mark vs. MAC schools. Cleveland State is just 1-5 in road contests with the lone victory coming at Texas-Arlington early in the season.

Leading the way is Bryn Forbes at 17.8 points per game. The 6'3" guard is among the nation's top shooters, ranking 26th in three-point percentage (.466) and 36th in three-pointer made (34). The return of 6'8" forward Anton Grady (9.3 ppg, 5.1 rpg), who was sideline most of last season with an injury, has also benefited Cleveland State this season. Grady, a preseason second team all-conference selection each of the past two seasons, was the team's top scorer and rebounder a year ago.

A pair of transfers have provided Cleveland State with an infusion of talent. 6'2" point guard Trey Lewis sat out last season after transferring from Penn State and averages 13.9 points and 3.8 assists per game. 6'7" forward Jon Harris, a common face to the Flashes the last three years at Miami, was immediately eligible and lead the Vikings with 6.2 rebound per game while scoring in double-figures (10.1 ppg).

Series Notes
• This will be the 49th all-time meeting between the schools with Kent State holding a 26-22 advantage in the series. The series began in 1933 but was discontinued from 1945-70.
• The road team has won the last three matchups with Golden Flashes winning in Cleveland in 2010 and January of this year. The Vikings pulled off a 57-53 victory at the M.A.C. Center in 2011 in front of a sellout crowd of 6,327.
• The Golden Flashes own the longest winning streak in the series, winning six straight matchups from 1998-2005.
• Kent State is 15-8 as the home team in this series.
• Cleveland State head coach Gary Waters has led the Vikings to a 3-2 record against his former school. Waters led Cleveland State to three straight victories before falling to the Flashes 72-55 last season.

Radio/Video
Ty Linder will bring you the action on 640 AM WHLO and the Golden Flashes iHearRadio channel. A live video stream will also be available through the MAC's website.

Next Up For Kent State
Kent State will bring in the New Year with a game at Princeton at noon on December 31 to conclude the non-conference schedule. The Flashes then return to the M.A.C. Center to open Mid-American Conference play against Ohio (Jan. 8) and Ball State (Jan. 11). Both games are schedule for 7 p.m.

Reach Out and Read
The men's and women's Basketball teams will be sponsoring book drives in support of "Reach Out and Read", a nationally recognized program that focuses on early literacy in children. The "Reach Out and Read" program accepts brand new books appropriate for children ages 6 months to 5 years, or gently used books appropriate for children ages 6 months to early teen. The program does not accept books containing violent, religious or "body" themes. Light blue boxes donation boxes with the "Reach Out and Read" logo will be located in the M.A.C. Center lobby for the following dates of men's basketball games:

Saturday, December 28th- Men vs. Cleveland State, 7:00 p.m.
Wednesday, January 8th- Men vs. Ohio, 7:00 p.m.
Saturday, February 1st- Men vs. Akron, 7:00 p.m.

Tickets
Fans can purchase tickets over the phone by calling 330-672-2244, in person by coming to the M.A.C. Center ticket office Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m., or online by clicking the banner below.

Men's Basketball to Host Cleveland State for Saturday Night Showdown

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