Golden Flashes Host Bowling Green in MAC Opener Wednesday
1/6/2015 4:34:00 PM | Men's Basketball
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KENT, Ohio – Kent State hosts Bowling Green in its Mid-American Conference opener Wednesday night at the M.A.C. Center. The 7 p.m. contest is the second of six home games for the Golden Flashes during the month of January.
The game will feature two of the MAC's top defensive teams, as both teams rank in the top 50 nationally in scoring defense and near the top of the conference in several defensive statistics.
The Golden Flashes (9-4) closed out non-conference play with one of its most complete performances of the season in defeating Texas-Pan American, 74-54, Friday night at the M.A.C. Center. Kent State raced out to a 40-25 halftime lead and was able to extend its lead to as much as 27 in the second half. Senior Devareaux Manley and redshirt sophomore Jimmy Hall paced the Flashes with 19 points each. Hall added 10 rebounds for his third double-double.
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 59.9 ppg, which ranks 49th in the country and holding opponents to 38.0 percent shooting overall and just 32.4 percent from the three-point arc. Only four teams have managed to score more than 61 points and shoot at least 40 percent from the field against the Flashes this season.
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 14.1 points per game and 7.8 rebounds per game. The Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook Preseason MAC Newcomer of the Year has pulled down at least eight rebounds in six of the last seven games and is shooting 50 percent from the field.
Senior guards Devareaux Manley, Kris Brewer and Derek Jackson lead a talented group of perimeter players. Manley (12.1 ppg) ranks in the top 20 in the country in 3-pointers per game (3.38) and 3-point percentage (.463) and is shooting 52.2 percent from the three-point arc in home games. Brewer (10.7 ppg) has accepted the sixth man role and become more consistent, scoring at least eight points in all but one game this season. Jackson (9.8 ppg) has moved into the starting point guard role and ranks sixth in the country in assist-to-turnover ratio (3.83) and leads the MAC in steals per game (2.2). The trio is shooting 42.4 percent (84-for-198) from the three-point line.
Scouting Bowling Green
Bowling Green, which was picked to finish fifth in the East Division, has been one of the surprise teams in the MAC in its first season under head coach Chris Jans. At 8-3, the Falcons are just four wins from matching their total from last year. The Falcons are just 3-2 on the road with victories at Drake, Detroit and South Florida.
Defense has been the calling card for Bowling Green this season. The Falcons held Chicago State to just 35 points on Saturday and rank 28th in the country in scoring defense (58.1 ppg). Additionally, they rank second in the MAC in field goal percentage defense (.394) and three-point percentage defense (.301).
Forward Richaun Holmes has lived up to his MAC East Division All-MAC Preseason Team billing with averages of 14.0 points, 8.7 rebounds (39th nationally) and 2.64 blocks (28th nationally) per game while making 56.1 percent of his field goals (39th nationally). Holmes has twice been named MAC East Division Player of the Week this season and posted season-highs of 26 points, 18 rebounds and 5 blocked shots in a game at Detroit on Nov. 30.
Guard Jehvon Clarke is the team's second-leading scorer despite coming off the bench. Clarke averages 10.0 points and shoots 42.1 percent (16-of-38) from the three-point arc. Newcomers Jovan Austin and David Joseph have taken over the point guard duties from Clarke this season and combine for 9.8 points and 6.9 assists per game.
Guard Zack Denny has been the Falcons' most-improved player this year. Denny, who played in just three games during his freshman season due to an injury, averages 9.6 points, is the team's second-leading rebounder (5.2 rpg) and has made a team-high 17 three-pointers.
Guards Spencer Parker and Anthony Henderson round out Bowling Green's starting unit. Parker averages 7.4 points per game while Henderson adds 6.5 points per game.
Improved depth has been a big part of the Falcons' early-season improvement. Last season, Bowling Green had three of the top four players in the MAC rankings in minutes per game. This year, no player averages more than 28.5 minutes per contest.
Quick Flashes
• Kent State ranks 17th the nation in 3-point shooting vs. Division I opponents (.398).
• The Golden Flashes are outscoring opponents by an average score of 31.9-29.1 in the second half.
• Kent State is getting 22.8 points per game from its bench compared to just 12.2 points per game for its opponents' bench.
• Redshirt sophomore Jimmy Hall, a transfer from Hofstra, has scored in double-figures in 11 games this season. Hall became the first player to score in double-figures in his first eight games in a Kent State uniform since Jay Peters, who scored in double-figures in the first 12 games of the 1986-87 season.
• The Golden Flashes return the nation's 35th highest-scoring backcourt from last season, as Kris Brewer, Derek Jackson, Devareaux Manley and Kellon Thomas combined for 38.7 ppg.
• Senior guard Kris Brewer 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.
• Redshirt sophomore Jimmy Hall, a transfer from Hofstra, was named Preseason MAC Newcomer of the Year by Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook.
Series HistoryÂ
• Kent State owns a 69-83 record all-time vs. Bowling Green.
• The first meeting between the schools was back on Jan. 23 1917. Fitting for that year, Kent State won the game, 19-17.
• Since the turn of the century, the Golden Flashes own a 21-10 record in the series.
• Kent State is 42-31 as the home team in the season. The Flashes have won seven of the last eight matchups at the M.A.C. Center. KSU won first and last games of this stretch by identical 62-61 scores.
• The teams have split the season series each of the past three seasons.
• Bowling Green holds a 4-1 edge in games that have required an overtime period.
TV / Radio
Ty Linder and Dave Carducci will bring you the action on 640 AM WHLO and the 640 WHLO iHeartRadio channel.Â
Next Up For Kent State
The Golden Flashes travel to Northern Illinois for a MAC crossover matchup on Saturday, Jan. 10.Â
