Kent State University
North Carolina A&T State University
Men's Basketball Hosts North Carolina A&T to Begin Busy Weekend
12/18/2014 11:35:00โฏAM | Men's Basketball
Game Notesย ย ย ย ย ย Videoย ย ย ย ย ย ย Live Statsย ย ย ย ย ย ย Golden Flashes Radio
KENT, Ohio โย Kent State (6-2) will play host to North Carolina A&T (1-11) on Friday at 7 p.m. in its only game at the M.A.C. Center during the month of the December. The game marks the beginning of a busy weekend in which the Golden Flashes will play three games in four days. After Friday's game, the team will catch an early flight to El Paso, Texas on Saturday morning for two games at the WestStar Bank Sun Bowl Invitational on Sunday and Monday.
The Golden Flashes used stifling defense to return to win a pair of road games to get the month of December started. In those games, Kent State allowed just 50.5 points per game and held their opponents to 34.7 percent shooting. In the second half of those games, the Flashes held their opponents to just 38 points and 11 made field goals total. This past Sunday, the Flashes held an Arkansas-Little Rock team that entered the game averaging 76.0 points to just 55 even with an additional five minutes of overtime.
Improvements on defensive end have been the key to Kent State's success during the early part of the season. The Flashes are allowing just 57.5 points per game, which ranks 331st in the country and holding opponents to 39.0 percent shooting overall and just 31.2 percent from the three-point arc. Only two teams have managed to score more than 61 points and shoot at least 40 percent from the field against the Flashes this season.
Redshirt sophomore Jimmy Hall has provided a boost on the interior, becoming the first program's first player to score at least 10 points in his first eight games as a Golden Flash since Jay Peters during the 1986-87 season. Hall leads Kent State with 14.5 points per game on 53.2 percent shooting and 7.4 rebounds per game.
Senior guards Kris Brewer,ย Derek Jackson and Devareaux Manleyย lead a talented group of perimeter players. Brewer averages 11.0 points and a team-best 3.3 assists per game, while Jackson and Manley add 10.5 points per game. The trio is shooting 46.4 percent (51-for-110) from the three-point line.
North Carolina A&T (1-11) has lost 10 in a row following a 97-55 loss at Ohio State on Wednesday. The Aggies have struggled offensively and rank in the bottom 50 in the nation in scoring (56.5 ppg), field goal percentage (.393), free throw percentage (.616), three-point shooting (4.5 per game) and turnovers (16.2 per game).
Forward Bruce Beckford tallied a career-high 26 points against the Buckeyes and is among the team leaders for N.C. A&T in nearly every statistical category. Beckford averages 15.4 points and 8.0 rebounds per game and is tied for the team lead with 11 three-pointers. No other player averages more than 8 points. Point guard Austin Williams only scores 6.7 points per game but leads the Aggies with 3.9 assists and 2.2 steals per game.ย
Quick Flashes
โขย Kent State leads the nation in 3-point shooting vs. Division I opponents (.452).
โขย The Golden Flashes areย outscoring opponents by an average score of 30.6-26.6 in the second half.
โขย Kent State has held a 186-95 advantage in bench scoring so far this season.
โข The Flashes have held their last two opponents to just 19 points each in the second half.
โขย Redshirt sophomoreย Jimmy Hall, a transfer from Hofstra, has scored in double-figures in all eight games this season. The last player to score in double-figures in first eight games in a Kent State uniform was Jay Peters (1986-87).
โขย The Golden Flashes return the nation's 35th highest-scoring backcourt from last season, asย Kris Brewer,ย Derek Jackson,ย Devareaux Manleyย andย Kellon Thomasย combined for 38.7 ppg.
โขย Senior guardย Kris Brewerย was selected by a MAC Media Panel to the five-player Preseason All-MAC East Team. Brewer was an All-MAC honorable mention selection last season.
Series Historyย
โขย This will be the first meeting all-time between the two schools.
โขย North Carolina A&T is the fourth of five first-time opponents on the Golden Flashes' schedule this season.ย
โขย Kent State will also play Malone, Illinois-Chicago, Arkansas-Little Rock and North Dakota State for the first time on the hardwood.
โขย The Flashes are 8-2 all-time vs. schools in the MEAC. Most recently, Kent State defeated Bethune-Cookman, 69-68, at the M.A.C. Center on Nov. 20, 2012.
TV / Radio
Ty Linder (play-by-play) and Dave Carducci (color) will bring you the action on 640 AM WHLO and theย Golden Flashesย iHeartRadioย channel.ย
Next Up For Kent State
The Golden Flashes open the WestStar Bank Sun Bowl Invitational vs. North Dakota State on Sunday, Dec. 21.ย
