Kent State University
15-12, 6-8MAC
University at Buffalo
16-8, 10-4MAC
Flashes fall to Bulls despite four in double-figures
2/22/2014 3:22:00 PM | Men's Basketball
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KENT, Ohio – Javon McCrea's 31 points and 11 rebounds helped the University at Buffalo edge Kent State 78-69 on Saturday and secure the school's first victory at the M.A.C. Center.
The Bulls were winless in 16 visits to Kent dating back to 1967, and the Golden Flashes made an early bid to keep that streak alive by using defense to jump out to leads of 10-2 after five minutes and 19-7 with 9:25 to play in the first half.
McCrea missed his first five shots and was held scoreless in the opening 11 minutes. But after breaking the ice with a dunk, the 6-foot-7 senior took control. Buffalo owned a 33-32 lead at halftime after Jarryn Skeete found McCrea for a late layup, and when McCrea hit a free throw early in the second half, he became Buffalo's all-time scoring leader.
The Bulls connected on 28 of 35 free throws as McCrea, who was just a 67-percent foul shooter at the start of the day, converted 13 of his 16 shots at the line. Kent State, meanwhile, struggled to make just 8 of its 17 free throw attempts.
"Javon McCrea is a great player and had a great game," said Kent State head coach Rob Senderoff. "Their whole frontcourt played really, really well today. Their bigs outscored ours 50-19 and it's hard to win games when that happens."
Four Kent State guards hit for double-figures, led by Kris Brewer's 16 points off of the bench. Kellon Thomas scored 13 points on 6-of-9 shooting and dished out four of Kent State's nine assists in 30 minutes of turnover-free basketball. Devareaux Manley and Derek Jackson added 11 and 10 points, respectively.
"We got some good play from our guards," Senderoff said. "There have been nights when our guards have struggled, but that wasn't the case today."
Buffalo took its biggest lead of the night at 13 points with 4:27 to play, but Kent State showed some fight down the stretch. Back-to-back three-pointers by Brewer and Manley separated by just 16 seconds briefly pulled the Flashes within five points at 72-67 with 2:12 remaining.
A three-point play by McCrea at the 1:23 mark stopped the Kent State momentum and sealed the win for the East Division-leading Bulls (16-8, 10-4).
Will Regan added 15 points for Buffalo while Justin Moss contributed 12 points and six rebounds in 12 minutes off of the Bulls' bench.
Kent State (15-12, 6-8) goes on the road next week for games at Bowling Green on Wednesday and at Ohio University on Saturday.
