Kent State University
Northern Arizona University
Golden Flashes Continue Road Tour at Northern Arizona in CIT Quarterfinals
3/26/2015 12:52:00 PM | Men's Basketball
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Mid-American Conference regular season co-champion Kent State continues its postseason run with its third consecutive road game at Northern Arizona in the quarterfinals of the 2015 CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament at 10 p.m. on Friday, March 27.
A win will advance the Golden Flashes to the semifinals on Tuesday, March 31 and give head coach Rob Senderoff his fourth career postseason win to become the all-time leader in Kent State history.
Kent State (23-11) defeated Texas A&M-Corpus Christi, 69-65, in a second round matchup on Monday in Corpus Christi, Texas. The Flashes fell behind 10-0 before coming from behind and securing victory in the final minutes. Jimmy Hall led the Flashes with 23 points on 11-for-14 shooting and 13 rebounds. Devareaux Manley scored 17 points and Derek Jackson added 12 points and six assists.
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 62.6 points per game, which ranks 70th in the country and holding opponents to 41.0 percent shooting overall. Only 11 teams have managed to score more than 61 points and the Flashes are 20-2 when holding opponents under 66 points. An increased emphasis on defending the three-point line has resulted in opponents making just 174 three-pointers and shooting 32.2 percent from beyond the arc, which rank 50th and 71st in the country respectively.
Redshirt sophomore Jimmy Hall has provided a boost on the interior and leads the Flashes with 15.9 points per game and 7.2 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 17.9 points per game on 57.8 percent shooting from the floor and 89.3 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 (13.2 ppg) is an elite shooter who is 8th in the country in 3-pointers per game (3.14) and 38th in 3-point percentage (.396). An All-MAC Second Team selection, Manley has made a Kent State single-season record 108 three-pointers. Brewer (10.8 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 62nd in the nation in assist-to-turnover ratio (2.29) and 94th in the country steals per game (1.70). The trio has made 214 three-point field goals.
Juniors Chris Ortiz (6.3 ppg, 4.5 rpg) and Khaliq Spicer (5.1 ppg, 6.1 rpg) have both recorded their first career double-double during the final month of the regular season. 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.
Scouting Northern Arizona
Northern Arizona (21-14) also went on the road to win its first two games of the CIT. The Lumberjacks defeated Grand Canyon, 75-7, in the opening round and then beat Sacramento State, 78-73, on Saturday. NAU is 11-2 at the Walkup Skydome this season and carries a seven-game home winning streak into Friday's quarterfinal matchup.
The Lumberjacks are led by the talented backcourt trio of Kris Yanku, Quinton Upshur and Aaseem Dixon. The three guards combine for 40.3 points per game, which accounts for 58.7 percent of the team's scoring.
Yanku is a First Team All-Big Sky selection and leads Northern Arizona with 5.1 assists per game and is second on the team at 13.6 points per game. He ranks fifth in the country in free throws made (205) and free throws attempted (259). Upshur is a Second Team All-Big Sky selection and paces the Lumberjacks at 14.6 points per game and is second on the team with 77 three-pointers. Dixon is an Honorable Mention All-Big Sky selection and leads NAU with 82 three-pointers while scoring 12.8 points per game.
Forward Jordyn Martin (7.6 ppg, 7.2 rpg) was named Big Sky Defensive Payer of the Year. Ako Kaluna averages 9.1 points per game. Len Springs is a rim-protector and averages 1.8 blocks per game.
Quick Flashes
• Kent State is one of only 21 teams 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 108 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 231 three-pointers for his career and is 16 behind all-time leader Randal Holt.
• Senior Kris Brewer surpassed the 1,000-point milestone February 4 vs. Western Michigan. Brewer is currently 19th on Kent State's scoring list with 1,124 points. He needs 50 points to pass John Whorton for 18th.
• 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 (81).
• Kent State has held opponents to 65 points or fewer in 19 of the 23 games it has won this season.
• Redshirt sophomore Jimmy Hall, a transfer from Hofstra, has scored in double-figures in 24 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.
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.
TV / Radio
The game will be televised live locally on Sports Time Ohio.
As usual, fans can listen to the game on 640 AM WHLO and the Golden Flashes Radio iHeartRadio channel. Ty Linder will bring you the action.
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 semifinals will take place on Tuesday, March 31.
