Kent State University
Ohio University
Kent State to Play at Ohio on TWC SportsChannel to Begin Final Back-to-Back Road Stretch
2/20/2015 2:16:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Game Notes Video Live Stats Audio
Kent State begins its second time through the Mid-American Conference East Division Saturday when it plays Ohio at the Convocation Center. Tip game is scheduled for 2 p.m. and will air on Time Warner Cable SportsChannel.
Kent State (18-8, 9-4) has won two straight and is in a four-way tie for first place in the MAC standings with five games remaining. The Golden Flashes are 6-4 on the road this season and snapped a three-game road losing streak with an overtime win over Toledo last Friday night. Ohio (9-15, 4-9) has lost three consecutive games by a margin of 11 points. Of the Bobcats' nine wins, seven have come at the Convocation Center.
Stingy defense has been responsible for the Flashes surpassing their overall and conference win totals from a year ago with a month remaining in the season. Kent State is allowing just 61.1 points per game, which ranks 53rd in the country and holding opponents to 40.6 percent shooting overall. Only nine teams have managed to score more than 61 points and the Flashes have allowed just 120 three-point field goals, which is the 12th-fewest in the country.
Seniors Devareaux Manley, Kris Brewer and Derek Jackson provide the Flashes with one of the most experienced and talented backcourts in the MAC and combined for 58 points in the Flashes' win over Toledo last Friday. Manley (13.2 ppg) is an elite shooter who is 13th in the country in 3-pointers per game (3.19) and 41st in 3-point percentage (.403). Brewer (10.7 ppg), has accepted his sixth man role, scored a season-high 21 points on Friday and also made the game-winning free throw with 2.1 in overtime. Jackson (9.9 ppg) has moved into the starting point guard role and ranks 35th in the country in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.53) and is second in the MAC in steals per game (1.8). The trio has made 160 three-point field goals.
Juniors Chris Ortiz (6.6 ppg, 4.3 rpg) and Khaliq Spicer (5.2 ppg, 6.3 rpg) have solidified spots in the starting lineup. Ortiz is averaging 10.8 points and 6.4 rebounds over the past five games. Spicer is averaging 11.3 rebounds over the last three games and recorded his first career double-double with 10 points and 12 rebounds Wednesday night vs. Ball State.
Graduate Craig Brown, junior Gary Akbar and sophomore Marquiez Lawrence have been part of a cast of Flashes that have stepped up in the absence of redshirt sophomore Jimmy Hall since the beginning of the month. Brown provided a lift with six points, three rebounds and two assists at Toledo, Akbar had seven points, six rebounds and two steals Wednesday vs. Ball State and Lawrence grabbed a career-high 10 rebounds on Feb. 7 vs. Miami.
Scouting Ohio
Ohio lost its first four conference games before winning four of its next six. That stretch included home wins over Akron Buffalo. However, the Bobcats have lost three straight games and sit near the bottom of the MAC standings.
The Bobcats have the second-highest scoring tandem in the MAC in guard Javarez Willis (15.2 ppg) and forward Maurice Ndour (14.6 ppg). Willis ranks 22nd in the country in three-pointers per game (3.00) and is a 38.3 percent shooter from beyond the three-point arc. He also leads Ohio with 3.2 assists per game. Ndour, a preseason All-MAC East selection, is second in the conference in rebounding (8.4 rpg), blocks (2.2 bpg) and double-doubles (8).
Forward Antonio Campbell adds 10.2 points and 7.1 rebounds per game to give Ohio the top rebounding duo in the conference. Guard Ryan Taylor (8.9 ppg) was one of the top freshmen in the conference during non-conference play, but is averaging just 7.8 points per game in MAC games. The Bobcats have a thin bench and only eight players have logged more than 21 minutes in league play.
Quick Flashes
• Senior Kris Brewer surpassed the 1,000-point milestone February 4 vs. Western Michigan. Brewer is currently 26th on Kent State's scoring list with 1,033 points.
• Senior Devareaux Manley is six three-pointers from tying Kent State's single season record (89), which was set by Randal Holt during the 2012-13 season.
• Manley has made 206 three-pointers and needs four to tie Trevor Huffman (1998-2002) for second on Kent State's all-time list.
• Kent State has allowed the 12th-fewest three-point field goals in the nation (120) this season.
• The Flashes are 10-0 when holding opponents to less than 25 percent shooting from the three-point line.
• Head coach Rob Senderoff is fifth on Kent State's all-time wins list (76).
• Kent State has held opponents to 65 points or fewer in 17 of the 18 games it has won this season.
• Redshirt sophomore Jimmy Hall, a transfer from Hofstra, has scored in double-figures in 18 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.
• Hall a transfer from Hofstra, was named Preseason MAC Newcomer of the Year by Blue Ribbon College Basketball Yearbook.
• 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.
Series History
• Kent State owns a 46-92 record all-time vs. Ohio.
• The series dates back to the 1930-31 season and a 23-21 Ohio win in Kent.
• Kent State is 11-52 in Athens, but has defeated the Bobcats in three of its last five visits.
• Eight of the last 12 matchups have been determined by 7 points or fewer.
• Kent State is just 2-9 in games that have gone to overtime.
TV / Radio
Dwight Burgess and Dave Cecutti will be on the call on Time Warner Cable SportsChannel. The game will also be streamed on ESPN3, WatchESPN.com and the WatchESPN app on mobile devices.
As usual, fans can listen to the game on 640 AM WHLO and the Golden Flashes Radio iHeartRadio channel. Ty Linder and David Carducci will bring you the action.
Next Up For Kent State
The Golden Flashes will play back-to-back road games for the final time at Miami on Tuesday, February 24.
