Kent State University
16-12, 6-7MAC
Buffalo
11-17, 6-7MAC
| Team | 1 | 2 | OT 1 | F |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Buffalo | 41 | 32 | 8 | 81 |
| Kent State | 32 | 41 | 10 | 83 |
Chris Evans beats the overtime buzzer to give Kent State an 83-81 win over Buffalo
2/27/2013 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
KENT, Ohio – Chris Evans banked in a four-footer at the overtime buzzer to lift Kent State to an 83-81 victory over the University at Buffalo on Wednesday night at the M.A.C. Center.
Three different Buffalo players challenged Evans as he drove for the basket, including Bulls star Javon McCrea, but the Kent State senior managed to hang in the air just long enough to get off the first buzzer beater of his life.
"I had never done anything like that before," said Evans, who finished with 14 points, eight rebounds and four assists. "It was definitely a good feeling. I was pretty excited when it went in."
Evans was so thrilled that it took some time for his teammates to catch up with him on the other end of the floor after a celebratory 80-foot sprint.
"Chris took off running. He didn't want us to catch him," said Randal Holt, who scored a career-high 28 points in the win, eclipsing the 27 he scored in this season's first meeting with Buffalo.
Evans' first game-winner also kept Kent State's East Division rival from capturing its first ever win in Kent. The Bulls are now 0-16 all-time at the M.A.C. Center.
More importantly, the win gave the Golden Flashes (16-12, 6-7) a season sweep of Buffalo, allowing them to leapfrog the Bulls in the Mid-American Conference standings. If the season were to end today, Kent State would own the No. 4 seed in the upcoming MAC tournament.
"It was an unbelievable game and a great win for us," said Kent State head coach Rob Senderoff. "Our kids deserved for one of these close games to go our way. They showed a lot of resilience."
The Golden Flashes had lost six similar games in the closing seconds already this season. Just to get into position to finally pull off a miracle, they needed to battle back from a 12-point deficit in the final 15 minutes.
Kent State trailed 41-32 at the half, and were only close enough to make a run thanks to 14 points from Holt.
Melvin Tabb provided the Flashes with the lift they needed in the second half. Tabb didn't get off the bench in the first 20 minutes, but the 6-foot-9 junior scored 14 points and grabbed five rebounds in 14 minutes of work after the break.
"I'm proud of how Melvin played because I think he gave us the spark," said Senderoff. "Along with the points and the rebounds, he came out and really energized our team when we didn't have a lot of energy in the first half."
Darren Goodson also made several big plays in the second half to help Kent State cut into the Buffalo lead. Goodson finished with 18 points and seven rebounds.
McCrea was a one-man gang for the second time this season against the Golden Flashes. After scoring a career-high 33 in Kent State's January win at Buffalo, McCrea led the Bulls again with 32 points and 15 rebounds in 41 minutes on Wednesday.
"If we could only figure out some way to not have to have Javon McCrea play against us," said Senderoff.
This time, McCrea had some help. Will Regan and Cameron Dowling both scored 14 points for the Bulls (11-17, 6-7). But both Buffalo bigs also fouled out and were not available to help McCrea attempt to defend Evans on the game's final shot.
Kent State will try to keep control of the No. 4 seed in the upcoming MAC tournament when it goes on the road to play Miami University on Saturday afternoon.
Chris Evans and the impossible angle of his last-second shot to beat Buffalo in overtime.
