Kent State Visits Toledo for Sunday Night Showdown

Game Notes (.pdf)

Kent State begins a stretch of three consecutive televised Mid-American Conference games when it travels to Toledo for a 6 p.m. contest on Sunday.

The Golden Flashes (11-7, 2-3) will go for their third consecutive victory at Savage Arena and to even their record in conference play after losing consecutive games to Buffalo and Western Michigan.

Point guard Kris Brewer has stepped up his play since the beginning of the conference schedule. The junior is averaging 14.0 points, 3.6 assists and a 2.25 assist-to-turnover ratio against MAC opponents.

Juniors Derek Jackson and Devareaux Manley join Brewer in the backcourt, which has been a strength for the Flashes. Jackson is the team's second-leading scorer at 10.7 points per game, leads the team in three-point shooting (.381) and ranks fourth in the MAC in steals per game (1.9). Manley is averaging 12.3 points over the past six contests and his 39 three-point field goals are second-most in the MAC.

Senior Darren Goodson, who matched Brewer with a team-high 10 points in his return to the starting lineup against Western Michigan, poses a difficult matchup for opponents with his ability to make plays both for himself and teammates at his position. Goodson averages 9.9 points and leads all MAC frontcourt players in assists this season (2.6 apg). Senior Mark Henniger is averaging 7.9 points and a team-best 5.4 rebounds on the season.

Sophomore Khaliq Spicer and freshman Marquiez Lawrence provided good frontcourt production off the bench against the Broncos on Thursday. Spicer had eight points, seven rebounds and two blocked shots, while Lawrence added three points and three rebounds in his best performance since the season-opener.

Toledo enters on a four-game winning streak and ranked 37th in the RPI. Both of the Rockets' losses (Kansas and Western Michigan) have come on the road and they have won 10 straight games at Savage Arena dating back to last season.

The Rockets own the MAC's top offense and average 83.3 points on the season. The team's starting five all average double-figure points, led by All-MAC forward Rian Pearson's 14.7 points per game. Justin Drummond (14.4 ppg) and Julius Brown (14.2 ppg) are right behind Pearson to give the Rockets three of the top 10 scorers in the MAC. Toledo also leads the MAC in field goal percentage, three-point field goal percentage, assists, fewest turnovers and assist-to-turnover ratio.

Brown gets the team going from his point guard position and ranks among the national leaders in assists (6.5 apg). Early in MAC play, he has seen an increased role as a scorer in the Toledo offense. Brown is averaging 17.4 points while shooting 14-for-32 from the three-point line in five league games.

Junior forward J.D. Weatherspoon, a transfer from Ohio State, leads Toledo's inside attack. Weatherspoon averages 11.7 points and a team-best 6.3 rebounds. Center Nathan Boothe rounds out the starting unit at 10.3 points per game.

Quick Flashes
• Kent State has won 36 of its last 40 games against schools in the MAC West.
• The Flashes are second in the MAC with 7.3 three-point field goals per game. Four players have made at least 19 trifectas on the season.
• Despite having just one player among the MAC's top 20 scorers, KSU ranks third in scoring as a team (72.6 ppg).
• The Flashes are getting huge bench contributions and have received 15 or more points from their reserves in each game.
• The Flashes are doing a great job of winning the turnover battle. They turn the ball over 10.8 times per contest, which is the 42nd-fewest in the nation and rank 29th in the nation in turnover margin.
• Kent State has amped up its defensive pressure to create more turnovers in recent games. The Flashes have forced at least 18 turnovers in three of the last four games and opponents are averaging 17.0 turnovers per game over that span.
• Kris Brewer and Darren Goodson combined for six assists and did not commit a turnover in 58 minutes of action Thursday vs. WMU.
• Kent State's 29 three-point field goal attempts are the most this season since Nov. 22 vs. USC Upstate (34). The Flashes made a school-record 18 three-pointers in that game.
• The Flashes have lost consecutive games by double-figures for just the second time under third-year head coach Rob Senderoff.
• Kent State has not scored more than 60 points in three MAC games after being unable to do so just twice against non-conference foes.

Series History
• Toledo leads the all-time series 79-45.
• Kent State has flipped the series since the turn of the century and holds a 13-5 advantage in the 2000's.
• The Golden Flashes have won five of the last six meetings, but Toledo picked up a 70-58 victory at the M.A.C. Center in last season's Mid-American Conference opener. The game snapped KSU's 31-game winning streak against MAC West schools.
The Rockets are 47-14 as the home team in the series.

#4PetesSake
The University of Akron announced on Dec. 14 that Director of Men's Basketball Operations Dan Peters (Kent State, '76) began a personal leave of absence to seek treatment for pancreatic cancer. As part of the Coaches vs. Cancer Suits and Sneakers Awareness Weekend, Kent State's men's basketball staff will wear lapel pins with a purple ribbon – the color for pancreatic cancer awareness – and the words "4 Pete's Sake" in support of Coach Peters and his battle against pancreatic cancer. These pins will also be worn by the men's basketball coaches of every school at which Peters has worked, as well as every school in the Mid-American Conference.

TV / Radio
The game will be televised live regionally on TWC SportsChannel and streamed nationally on ESPN3. Michael Reghi and Dave Cecutti will be on the call.

Ty Linder (play-by-play) and Dave Carducci (color) will bring you the action on 640 AM WHLO and the Golden Flashes iHeartRadio channel.

Next Up For Kent State
The Flashes will attempt to complete the season sweep of Northern Illinois Wednesday (Jan. 29) at the M.A.C. Center.

Kent State Visits Toledo for Sunday Night Showdown

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