Kent State University
Texas A&M - Corpus Christi
Kent State Travels to Texas A&M-Corpus Christi for Second Round of CIT
3/21/2015 10:25:00 AM | Men's Basketball
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Mid-American Conference regular season co-champion Kent State continues its postseason run with a game at Texas A&M-Corpus Christi in the second round of the 2015 CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament at 8 p.m. on Monday, March 23.
Kent State (22-11) defeated Middle Tennessee, 68-56, in a first round matchup on Wednesday in Murfreesboro, Tenn. The Golden Flashes used a 19-5 run over the final 7:03 of the first half to take a 40-29 lead into the locker room and never allowed the Blue Raiders to get closer than seven the rest of the way. Jimmy Hall had 20 points and 8 rebounds to help the Flashes outscore the Blue Raiders 24-14 in the paint and own a 19-10 edge in second-chance points. Senior guards Derek Jackson and Kris Brewer did an excellent job of handling MTSU's multiple defensive looks and Kent State had a season-low four turnovers. Jackson scored 16 points and shot 4-for-6 from the three-point line. Brewer contributed 12 points and 6 assists off the bench.
Stingy defense has been responsible for the Flashes being in position for another regular season championship with three games remaining in the season. Kent State is allowing just 62.5 points per game, which ranks 78th in the country and holding opponents to 41.1 percent shooting overall. Only 10 teams have managed to score more than 61 points and the Flashes are 19-2 when holding opponents under 66 points. An increased emphasis on defending the three-point line has resulted in opponents making just 169 three-pointers and shooting 32.1 percent from beyond the arc, which rank 28th and 59th in the country respectively.
Redshirt sophomore Jimmy Hall has provided a boost on the interior and leads the Flashes with 15.6 points per game and 7.3 rebounds per game. Hall, an All-MAC First Team honoree, has raised his level of play since returning from an illness that sidelined him for the first five games in February and averaged 17.1 points per game on 54.5 percent shooting from the floor and 88.9 percent from the foul line.
Seniors Devareaux Manley, Kris Brewer and Derek Jackson provide the Flashes with one of the most experienced and talented backcourts in the MAC. Manley (13.1 ppg) is an elite shooter who is 7th in the country in 3-pointers per game (3.19) and 40th in 3-point percentage (.397). An All-MAC Second Team selection, Manley has made a Kent State single-season record 102 three-pointers. Brewer (11.0 ppg), the MAC's Sixth Man of the Year, has been a go-to player down the stretch for the Flashes and made the game-winning free throw in final 15.1 seconds on four occasions. Jackson (10.4 ppg) ranks 66th in the country steals per game (1.75) and 74th in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.26). The trio has made 206 three-point field goals.
Juniors Chris Ortiz (6.4 ppg, 4.5 rpg) and Khaliq Spicer (5.2 ppg, 6.2 rpg) have both recorded their first career double-double over the past month. Ortiz notched 13 points, 11 rebounds at Miami on February 24. Spicer, who is third in the MAC in blocks per game (1.61) had 10 points and 12 rebounds against Ball State on February 18.
Quick Flashes
• Kent State will look to become the 21st team in the country with 10 true road wins this season.
• Senior Devareaux Manley broke Kent State's single-season three-point field goals record, which was set by Randal Holt during the 2012-13 season, at Miami on February 24. Manley now has 104 three-pointers on the season.
• Manley passed Trevor Huffman (1998-2002) for second on Kent State's all-time list last Saturday at Ohio. He now has 227 three-pointers for his career and is 20 behind all-time leader Randal Holt.
• Senior Kris Brewer surpassed the 1,000-point milestone February 4 vs. Western Michigan. Brewer is currently 22nd on Kent State's scoring list with 1,119 points. He needs four points to pass Leroy Thompson for 20th.
• Kent State has allowed the 36th-fewest three-point field goals in the nation (169) this season.
• The Flashes are 11-1 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 (80).
• Kent State has held opponents to 65 points or fewer in 19 of the 22 games it has won this season.
• Redshirt sophomore Jimmy Hall, a transfer from Hofstra, has scored in double-figures in 246c 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.
Series History
• Kent State owns a 3-1 record all-time vs. Texas A&M-Corpus Christi.
• The Golden Flashes are 3-0 in matchups in Kent, but suffered an 81-73 loss in the only previous The first meeting between the schools took place on November 24, 2004. The Flashes came away with a 78-58 victory in that contest.
• Kent State also defeated Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, 61-50, on January 9, 2088 and 85-76 on December 20, 2009.
About the CIT
In its seventh year, the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament is was created to provide more teams the opportunity to compete in the postseason basketball. The 32-team field consists of programs from non-Power 5 conferences and all games will be played on campus site.
The tournament uses the old NIT model, with future round opponents being determined by results of the previous round, helping to minimize travel and limit class time missed by the student-athletes.
Both semifinals and the championship game will be televised nationally on the CBS Sports Network.
Radio
Dave Wilson will bring you the action on 640 AM WHLO and the Golden Flashes Radio iHeartRadio channel.
Next Up For Kent State
The CIT uses the old NIT model in which matchups in future rounds are determined by the results of the previous round. The second round takes place on March 25-28.
