Kent State University
14-11, 5-7MAC
Central Michigan University
8-16, 1-11MAC
Career nights by Ortiz and Thomas lead Flashes over Central Michigan
2/15/2014 8:55:00 PM | Men's Basketball
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KENT, Ohio – Career nights by sophomores Chris Ortiz and Kellon Thomas paced Kent State in an 83-75 victory over Central Michigan on Saturday at the M.A.C. Center.
Ortiz and Thomas both scored 17 points and led a group of five Golden Flashes in double-figures as Kent State sizzled to 63.3-percent shooting (31-for-49) as a team. The Flashes also found 14 points from junor Kris Brewer, 13 from junior Derek Jackson and 10 from senior Mark Henniger.
"We've been going really hard in practice," said Ortiz, who added six rebounds and made seven of his 10 shots, including all three of his attempts from beyond the three-point arc. "Confidence is going up and we knew we had to attack (Central Michigan), which we didn't do the last time we played them."
The Flashes suffered a 78-73 overtime loss at Central Michigan just last week when they watched a nine-point lead slip away in the second half. They were in danger of suffering a similar fate on Saturday after a 13-point first-half lead was trimmed to 35-26 at the break. And when the Flashes watched the Chippewas open the second half with a 15-4 run, they suddenly found themselves trailing again.
This time, Kent State had an answer. The Flashes quickly reconstructed a double-digit lead as Ortiz and Brewer both hit two long threes and Thomas added an old-fashioned three-point play on a driving layup.
Brewer and Ortiz converted a combined 7-of-8 from three-point range and Kent State converted 9-of-19 threes overall (47.4-percent).
The Flashes also did a nice job of handling Central Michigan's full-court pressure after struggling against the press last week in Mount Pleasant. Most of their nine turnovers came out of the half-court offense, and that number was half of their total in the Feb. 5 loss.Â
Jackson, who played for Central Michigan in his first two college seasons, added to his 13 points by stuffing the box score with team highs of seven rebounds, six assists and four steals. Henniger, meanwhile, was a perfect 5-for-5 from the field in helping the Kent State bench outscore Central's reserves 27-18.
Thomas converted 9-of-11 free throws on the night and helped Kent State seal the win late. Central Michigan tested the young point guard late by sending him to the foul line over and over again in the closing minutes.Â
"We need everyone to contribute to have our best chance to win," said Kent State head coach Rob Senderoff, whose team improved to 14-11 overall and 5-7 in Mid-American Conference play. "I've been talking about that since the start of the year. Tonight we got contributions from everyone who stepped on the floor. That was great to see. Now we've won two in a row and we need to keep building some momentum heading into March."
Central Michigan (8-15, 1-10) was led by Chris Fowler's 19 points. Blake Hibbitts and Braylon Rayson added 12 points each for the Chippewas, while John Simons scored 11.Â
Kent State will go for its third consecutive win on Wednesday night when it travels to Miami University.
