Kent State University
9-3
Cleveland State University
8-6
Cleveland State hands Golden Flashes 78-70 home loss
12/28/2013 9:21:00 PM | Men's Basketball
KENT, Ohio – Kent State lost for the second time in a row on its home floor, falling 78-70 to Cleveland State on Saturday night at the M.A.C. Center despite a season-high 18 points from Derek Jackson.
The 55th best free-throw shooting team in the nation split too many pairs from the foul line in the second half and ended up making just 65.5-percent of its free throws (19-for-29). Cleveland State, meanwhile, managed to close out its win from the foul line, where it connected on 21-for-24 (87.5 percent).
The Vikings built a lead that reached 11 points with 4:38 to play. The Flashes pulled back to within three points with 3:02 remaining after two K.K. Simmons free throws, but suffered too many empty possessions in the final three minutes.
"I've got to tip my hat to them. Cleveland State played very well," said Kent State coach Rob Senderoff. "I try to give other team credit when they deserve it … Overall our effort wasn't where it needed to be to win games, especially on the defensive end."
Jackson led all scorers with 18 points, connecting on 5-of-9 from the floor. While he also finished with five rebounds and three steals in 36 minutes, Jackson converted just 6-of-11 from the foul line.
"I can't explain that," said Senderoff. "Derek is a usually a very good free-throw shooter. Yesterday in practice he made 49 in a row."
Mark Henniger added 14 points and eight rebounds for the Flashes. Henniger broke Trevor Huffman's record for consecutive free throws made (39) by making his first four attempts on the night to extend his streak to 41 before finishing 6-for-7. Darren Goodson also scored 14, but made just five of his 16 shots from the field, including 2-of-8 from three-point range. As a team, Kent State made just 7-of-27 from beyond the arc.
Cleveland State's bench outscored Kent State's 28-15 thanks in large part to Sebastian Douglas, who scored 14 points on perfect 5-for-5 shooting. He also grabbed a team-high seven rebounds.
"Every play Sebastian Douglas made was a big one," said Senderoff. "Trey Lewis also made some big shots for them. Everyone who stepped on the floor for them seemed to come up with a big play."
Bryn Forbes matched Douglas' team high. His 14 included a buzzer-beater three to give the Vikings a 30-28 lead at halftime.
Trey Lewis and Anton Grady added 12 points each for Cleveland State (8-6) while Marlin Mason scored 10. Jon Harris contributed eight points off the bench, all coming in the second half.
Kent State won the rebounding battle 32-28 with half of those coming off of the offensive glass as the Flashes outscored the Vikings 17-8 in second-chance points.
The Flashes (9-3) will close out the non-conference portion of its schedule on Tuesday when it travels to Princeton. They open Mid-American Conference play at home when Ohio University visits the M.A.C. Center on Jan. 8.
