Kent State University
7-2
North Carolina A&T State University
1-12
Manley's 24 points lead Flashes to 71-57 win over NC A&T
12/19/2014 9:33:00 PM | Men's Basketball
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KENT, Ohio – Devareaux Manley hit seven three-pointers and scored 24 points as Kent State pulled away late for a 71-57 victory over North Carolina A&T on Friday night at the M.A.C. Center.
The victory came in the opener of a three-game-in-four-night stretch that will see the Golden Flashes (7-2) travel to El Paso, Texas for games on Sunday and Monday in the WestStar Bank Don Haskins Sun Bowl Invitational.
"We forced 23 turnovers, blocked eight shots and played pretty good defense again," said Kent State head coach Rob Senderoff. "That's what we needed going into a difficult weekend at UTEP. Devareaux was very good tonight, going 7-of-10 from three-point range. We've been shooting the threes very well lately. We came into the day No. 1 in the nation at 45.2 percent from three (in Division I games), and we made 10-of-22 tonight."
The 24 points by Manley established a new career high, eclipsing the 21 points he scored in a Nov. 22, 2013 game against USC Upstate. Manley also hit seven threes in that game.
Kent State held a 32-25 lead at halftime and was up by only four points with 5:17 remaining before Manley's fifth three jump-started a late run. Manley's final three of the night with 1:13 remaining and gave the Flashes their biggest lead of the night at 69-53.
The Flashes found big minutes from the rest of their backcourt, as Kris Brewer added 11 points and Derek Jackson came away with half of the team's eight steals. Kent State's 23 forced turnovers led to a 29-9 scoring advantage in points off turnovers.
Jimmy Hall and Khaliq Spicer added eight points each while combining for nine of Kent State's 24 rebounds.
North Carolina A&T (1-12) stayed in the game until the closing minutes thanks in large part to the play of Khary Doby and Arturs Bremers, who scored 16 and 14, respectively. Bruce Beckford added 11 points and seven rebounds, but made just five of his 14 field goals and turned the ball over five times. Point guard Austin Williams committed 11 turnovers in 38 minutes.
The Flashes will meet North Dakota State in Sunday's opener of the WestStar Bank Don Haskins Sun Bowl Invitational on Sunday night and then play either UTEP or Alcorn State on Monday.
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