Kent State University
17-8 (8-4MAC)
University of Toledo
16-9 (8-4MAC)
Flashes end Toledo's win streak in a 76-75 OT thriller
2/13/2015 9:32:00 PM | Men's Basketball
TOLEDO, Ohio – Kris Brewer's free throw with 2.1 seconds to play in overtime was the difference as Kent State ended a six-game Toledo winning streak in a 76-75 overtime thriller at Savage Hall on Friday.
The game of swings finally ended when Toledo couldn't get off a shot on an inbound from in front of its own bench with one tick remaining on the clock.
"I couldn't be prouder of these guys," said Kent State head coach Rob Senderoff. "I was proud of everybody, but particularly our three seniors."
Brewer led all scorers with 21 points while Derek Jackson added 20 and Devareaux Manley scored 17. Their play helped the Golden Flashes seemingly secure the win in regulation with a five-point lead and only 18 seconds remaining. But a string of missed free throws and Toledo's refusal to quit turned that comfortable situation into near disaster.
After Manley split a pair of free throws with five seconds on the second-half clock, Toledo's Stuckey Mosley drove coast-to-coast, flipped in a layup and drew a foul from Brewer at 0.6 seconds. Fortunately for Kent State, Mosley's missed free throw sent the game to overtime.
"Give Toledo credit," said Senderoff, whose Flashes improved to 17-8 overall and 8-4 in Mid-American Conference play. "Toledo is a veteran team, and they were not going to stop playing. We made a mistake (with 20 seconds to play in regulation) by fouling J.D. Weatherspoon on a tip-in … when we had just said in a timeout no threes and no fouls."
The Weatherspoon three-point play cut a 5-point lead to just two.
"And then we didn't make our free throws down the stretch," Senderoff said.
But given second life, Kent State converted 5-of-6 from the foul line in overtime after struggling to go just 10-of-21 in the first 40 minutes.
Weatherspoon (16 points, 10 rebounds), Nathan Boothe (15 points, 14 rebounds) and Justin Drummond (17 points, 10 rebounds) all finished with double-doubles to lead Toledo (16-9, 8-4 MAC).
Meanwhile, Jackson locked down All-MAC point guard Julius Brown for the second consecutive meeting. Brown scored five points below his 16.4 scoring average that ranked No. 2 in the Mid-American Conference while struggling to make just three of his 14 shots from the field. In Toledo's two losses to Kent State this season, Brown was just 7-for-21.
Jackson converted 8-of-14 from the field, including 4-of-6 from three-point range in his 40 minutes. His 12-point first half helped Kent State to a 36-32 lead at the break.
Brewer was 7-of-14 from the field and 4-of-8 from beyond the arc in another 40-minutes. As a team, Kent State converted 41.7 percent of its shots (25-for-60) compared With Toledo's 38.3 percent (23-for-60).
Khaliq Spicer led Kent State with 12 rebounds while Chris Ortiz added nine. Toledo won the rebounding battle 47-41. The Flashes took excellent care of the ball, committing just seven turnovers to match their season-low.
Kent State returns to action on Wednesday night when Ball State visits the M.A.C. Center.
