Kent State University
23-11
Texas A&M - Corpus Christi
20-14
Kent State moves on in CIT with 69-65 win in Corpus Christi
3/23/2015 10:50:00 PM | Men's Basketball
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – Jimmy Hall's 23 points and 13 rebounds led Kent State to a come-from-behind 69-65 victory at Texas A&M Corpus Christi in Monday night's second round of the College Insider.com Postseason Tournament.
Hall hit a string of clutch shots down the stretch on his way to an 11-for-14 shooting night. His rebounding on both ends of the floor also played a big role in the victory. Six of Hall's boards came on the offensive end while Four of his defensive rebounds were corralled in the game's final three minutes as KSU finished off a string of key stops.
"I couldn't be prouder of the effort tonight," said Kent State head coach Rob Senderoff. "We were down 10-0 right off the bat and trailed by seven late, but our guys never got frustrated. They kept fighting and making plays. Jimmy Hall was fantastic. When he picked up his fourth foul with four minutes to play, it could have really hurt us. But Derek Jackson, Devareaux Manley, Kris Brewer and everyone who stepped on the floor kept us in the game. And then when Jimmy came back at about the seven-minute mark, he pretty much took over."
The Flashes trailed by seven points with seven minutes remaining before Hall and Jackson brought them storming back. A Jackson three-pointer on a fast-break dish from Hall with 6:15 to play started the comeback, cutting the Islanders lead to 57-53. A Hall tip-in at 5:40 pulled the Flashes within two.
Kent State finally pulled into a tie at 65-65 with 1:14 remaining when Hall flipped in a layup on a screen and roll from Jackson, drawing contact for an old-fashioned three-point play.
Jackson slipped and fell with 17.4 seconds to play, but managed to flip the ball to Hall for a layup that gave the Flashes the lead for good.
After Corpus Christi's Rashawn Thomas missed two free throws with 8.4 seconds remaining, Devareaux Manley sealed the win for Kent State with two free throws at the 6.8-second mark.
Manley finished with 15 points, going 4-for-11 from three-point range. His shooting helped Kent State overcome an early double-digit deficit to trail by just five points at 34-29 going into halftime. Jackson added 12 points and a team-high six assists.
Kent State held the Islanders scoreless for the first 5:10 of the second half, setting the tone for the stops that would win the game at the end.
The Flashes held the Islanders to 40.4-percent shooting from the floor (21-52). Corpus Christi was led by Bryce Douvier and John Jordan with 16 and 14 points, respectively. Guard Victor Juricek gave Kent State problems off the Islanders bench with 11 points on 4-of-5 shooting, and four assists.
Kent State won the rebounding battle by a slim 30-29 margin. The Flashes also dished out 13 assists on 24 baskets while shooting exactly 50 percent from the floor. Jackson and Manley combined to go 7-of-18 from three-point range while Kent State shot 8-for-22 (36.4 percent) from the arc as a team.
The win pushed the Golden Flashes (23-11) into the CIT quarterfinals on Friday at Northern Arizona (21-12).
