Kent State University
9-5, 0-1MAC
Bowling Green
9-3, 1-0MAC
Flashes drop MAC opener to BGSU despite 25 from Hall
1/7/2015 9:20:00 PM | Men's Basketball
KENT, Ohio – Jimmy Hall's career-high 25 points were not enough for Kent State as the Golden Flashes lost a 66-64 heartbreaker to Bowling Green in Wednesday's Mid-American Conference opener at the M.A.C. Center.
Hall hit 10-of-15 from the field and grabbed seven rebounds in 39 minutes, but Bowling Green's terrific shooting in the second half was the difference as the Falcons battled back from a 35-26 halftime deficit on 15-of-30 shooting overall and 6-of-8 from the three-point arc. Spencer Parker scored all of his 16 points in the game's final 20 minutes and had 12 in the final 6 minutes. Richaun Holmes led Bowling Green with 20 points, 5 rebounds and 3 blocks.
Kent State (9-5, 0-1 MAC) built its first-half advantage behind a late 18-0 run. The Flashes led by as many as 15 before halftime and by eight points midway through the second half before a Parker-led run turned the closing minutes into a back-and-forth battle.
"It was a dogfight. We played well in spurts and really defended in the first half," said Kent State head coach Rob Senderoff. "We had some defensive lapses in the second half, though. Give them credit for making some big shots, but a couple of times it was a lack of communication on our part that gave them open looks. Jimmy Hall was great. Tonight is as well as we have seen him play."
Devareaux Manley added 13 points. The 20th ranked three-point shooter in the nation hit 3-of-9 from beyond the arc. Kris Brewer had nine points and six assists, but missed all five of his three-point attempts. Kellon Thomas returned to the court for the first time in more than a month after being injured in practice on Dec. 4 and contributed tw points, one rebound and one assist in 14 minutes.
Kent State won the rebounding battle 36-29, pulling down 13 offensive rebounds but scoring only four second-chance points. Chris Ortiz hauled in a game-high 10 rebounds and added 8 points. Bowling Green took advantage of 14 turnovers by Kent State to outscore the Flashes 16-9 off of turnovers. In a rare occurrence, KSU was also outscored off of the bench, 14-6.
The Flashes are back in action on Saturday when they travel to Northern Illinois.
POSTGAME PRESS CONFERENCE
