Kent State University
6-715-11; MAC
Miami University (OH)
5-89-15; MAC
Brewer sizzles as Flashes win at Miami
2/19/2014 9:32:00 PM | Men's Basketball
OXFORD, Ohio – Kris Brewer drilled all seven of his three-point shots on his way to a 28-point night as Kent State dominated Miami University to a 75-63 road win on Wednesday night in Millett Hall.
Add in Brewer's 4-for-5 night in a Saturday win over Central Michigan and the junior point guard has connected on 11 of his last 12 three-point attempts. The sizzling streak arrived after making just one shot from beyond the arc in the previous six games.
"I've been getting in the gym, and that's the reason for the turnaround," said Brewer, who was 9-for-11 from the field overall. "One night I was in the gym until 2 or 3 o'clock in the morning. (Assistant coach DeAndre) Haynes has been getting me in the gym for extra shots every day and he is always talking to me, keeping my head right."
Brewer's hot hand rubbed off on his teammates. The Golden Flashes drilled 57.7 percent of their three-point attempts (15-for-26) while also matching the RedHawks with 24 points in the paint.
"Obviously we shot the ball very well tonight," said Kent State head coach Rob Senderoff, whose Flashes improved to 15-11 overall and 6-7 in Mid-American Conference play. "We were focused on doing whatever we needed to do to win. Our guys all played with a ton of energy. We had great focus. And while we had a lot of turnovers, for most of the night we handled their pressure. When you do that, you can get open looks."
The Flashes launched those open looks with confidence. Adding to Brewer's big night, Devareaux Manley added 5-of-8 from three-point range on his way to 15 points. Derek Jackson added 10 points while going 2-for-5 on threes.
Khaliq Spicer led Kent State with nine rebounds and also blocked three shots. The Flashes won the rebounding battle 28-25 and outscored the RedHawks off of the bench 50-14.
"We all played together," said Brewer, whose final line included five rebounds, three assists and two steals. "We were all looking for each other and we all played pretty well to win our third game in a row."
In the MAC East, only Kent State and Buffalo are 4-2 since the start of February. Akron and Ohio are both 3-3 during the month, while Bowling Green is 2-3 and Miami is now 1-5 with five consecutive losses.
Will Felder led Miami with 23 points, doing much of his damage from the foul line, where he was 11-for-13. Geovonie McKnight and Willie Moore both added 12 points for the RedHawks, who fell to 9-15 overall and 5-8 in MAC play.
Kent State seized control early in the second half after taking a 28-22 lead into the Break. The Flashes lead swelled to 22 points with 10:55 to play.
