Kent State University
Marist College
Men’s Basketball Hosts Marist Saturday for Camper Night
11/20/2015 2:20:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Game Notes Video Live Stats Audio
Kent State (1-1) returns to the M.A.C. Center to host Marist (1-1) at 7 p.m. on Saturday. The Golden Flashes will hold Camper Night with all children who attended one of the team's summer camps receiving free admission and parents of campers receiving a discounted ticket rate.
The Golden Flashes are coming off a 72-69 loss at Southern Illinois on Wednesday night. Redshirt junior Kellon Thomas, who scored a team-high 17 points, was unable to connect on a corner three-point attempt in the final seconds that would have forced overtime. The Flashes once again used its size advantage to control the glass and held a 20-5 edge in offensive rebounds, but only turned that into a 13-2 advantage in second chance points. The game was determined at the foul line, where Kent State shot just 16-for-36 (44.4%) compared to Southern Illinois' 23-for-30 (76.7%).
After missing the final 20 games of the 2014-15 season, Thomas has been the Flashes' leading scorer in the first two games, which included a career-high 18 points vs. Youngstown State, and is averaging 17.5 points per game. The starting frontcourt of Jimmy Hall (10.5 ppg, 7.5 rpg), Chris Ortiz (9.5 ppg, 11.0 rpg) and Khaliq Spicer (9.5 ppg, 8.0 rpg) have helped Kent State post a +15.0 rebounding margin over the first two games. Ortiz had a career-high 16 rebounds vs. Youngstown State and his 11 offensive rebounds are just one fewer than the Flashes' first two opponents combined.
Redshirt senior Xavier Pollard is second on the team in scoring with 10.5 points per game off the bench. Graduate student Galal Cancer has provided a good all-around floor game with 4.5 points, 4.5 rebounds and a team-high 3.5 assists per game. Redshirt junior Deon Edwin has made the most of his 9.5 minutes per game and contributes 5.0 points and 4.0 rebounds per game.
Freshmen guards Jaylin Walker and Jalen Avery contributed during their time on the court. Walker (9.0 mpg) has shown his three-point shooting ability to average 4.5 points per game, while Avery has handed out six assists without committing any turnovers in 11 minutes of action.
Scouting Marist
Marist is coming off a 73-63 win over Dartmouth. Khallid Hart (24.5 ppg, 5.0 rpg) scored a game-high 27 points and added 8 rebounds. Cleveland native Brian Parker is second on the team in scoring (10.0 ppg)and has a team-high 6 assists.
Series History
• This will be the first meeting on the hardwood between the two schools.
• Marist is the first of two first-time opponents on the Golden Flashes' schedule this season.
• The Flashes are 19-13 all-time vs. schools from the MAAC. Most recently, Kent State defeated Niagara, 102-97, at the M.A.C. Center on Nov. 23, 2013.
Radio
Ty Linder and David Carducci will bring you the action on the Golden Flashes iHeartRadio channel.
Next Up For Kent State
The Golden Flashes will host Saint Francis (Pa.) on Tuesday at 8:30 p.m. as part of a doubleheader with the women's basketball team.
