Kent State University
19-10, 10-6MAC
University at Buffalo
19-9, 10-6MAC
Men's Basketball falls to Bulls 71-65 on tough shooting night
2/28/2015 9:54:00 PM | Men's Basketball
KENT, Ohio – Kent State fell out of a top four position in the Mid-American Conference overall standings by with a 71-65 loss to Buffalo on Saturday at the M.A.C. Center.
"They out-toughed us tonight," said Kent State head coach Rob Senderoff, whose team fell to 19-10 overall and 10-6 in MAC play. "Their guards all had big games, and that's disappointing."
Buffalo forward Justin Moss, who began the night as the MAC's leading scorer (18.7) and rebounder (9.3), managed just 6 points and 2 rebounds, but Shannon Evans scored 21 points and Lamonte Bearden and Jarryn Skeete added 14 each to lead a dominant performance by the Bulls backcourt.
Jimmy Hall finished with an 18-point, 10-rebound double-double for Kent State, as the Flashes held a 34-32 advantage in points in the paint, but converted just 18 percent of their three-pointers (4-for-22) compared to Buffalo's 44 percent (8-for-18). Skeete got the Bulls was 4-for-4 from three-point range in the game's first 2:24 as the Bulls jumped out to a 12-7 lead.
Devareaux Manley scored a team-high 19 points, but needed 18 shots to do so and was 2-for-12 from three-point range. The school's single-season leader for threes in a season missed his first nine from beyond the arc. Fellow senior guard Derek Jackson scored 10 points and had a career-high five steals on the defensive end.
After falling behind by as many as 10 points in the first half, Kent State used a 13-2 run that vaulted the Flashes into a 31-30 lead on a layup by Marquiez Lawrence.
But Buffalo (19-9, 10-6) answered again with a 4-0 spurt to take a 34-31 lead into the break, then put the Flashes behind the eight-ball again by turning two quick Kent State turnovers into easy dunks to open the final 20 minutes.
Kent State fell behind by as many as 15 with 4:36 to go before making a late run to pull within four at 69-65 with 10 seconds to go.
The Golden Flashes began the week tied for the league's best record and in position to claim the No. 1 seed in the upcoming MAC tournament by virtue of tiebreaker. After back-to-back losses at Miami and at home to Buffalo, the Flashes would sit in the No. 5 spot with only regular-season games at Bowling Green and at home against Akron remaining. The top four seeds receive the all-important byes in a tournament format that makes survival difficult for the bottom eight seeds.
POSTGAME PRESS CONFERENCE
