Kent State University
21-10, 12-6MAC
University of Akron
18-13, 9-9MAC
Flashes Claim Share of MAC Regular Season Title on Brewer’s Senior Night Buzzer-Beater
3/6/2015 11:15:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Final Stats (pdf)
Kris Brewer's game-winning layup: Instagram ESPN
KENT, Ohio — Kris Brewer took an inbounds pass with 5.9 seconds on the clock and drove coast-to-coast to lay it in at the buzzer and give Kent State a dramatic 79-77 win over Akron Friday night in front of a sellout crowd of 6,327 at the M.A.C. Center.
"Coach drew up a play for me coming off of two screens," Brewer said of the final possession. "I saw middle of floor open, and I finished it with my left hand. I'm so happy. I couldn't be more proud of our team. We fought to the end and are champions."
Brewer is not a stranger to the role of hero, as he had made the game-winning free throw in the final 15 seconds of three games this season.
Kent State (21-10, 12-6) received help from Western Michigan, who defeated Central Michigan on Friday night, and shares the Mid-American Conference regular season championship with the Chippewas and Buffalo.
"Obviously, this is a great win for us," said head coach Rob Senderoff. "At the end, the heart & toughness our team showed all year round through ups and downs allowed us to get the win. Senior Night is always a special night for everybody, and to be able to win the way we did tonight makes it even more special."
It was only right that the Flashes' seniors would play the starring roles on Senior Night. The senior backcourt trio of Brewer, Derek Jackson and Devareaux Manley combined to score 52 points on 14-for-26 shooting overall and 8-for-12 from beyond the three-point arc.
Each player took their turn in the lead role, with Manley getting the Flashes on the scoreboard with a deep three-pointer after Akron raced out to a 6-0 lead. He finished with 10 points and added another three-point field goal to become just the fifth player in MAC history to make 100 three-pointers in a season.
Jackson made his first five shots of the night and had 19 points at halftime. He finished with a game-high 22 points and added two steals.
After a forgetful first half in which he was held scoreless on 0-for-3 shooting, Brewer's 20-point second-half performance will go down as one of the best in Kent State-Akron history. Brewer was held without a field goal until the 10:51 mark when his layup tied the game at 53-53. After Akron took a two-point lead at the under-8 media timeout, Brewer came right back down and buried a three-pointer to give the Flashes the lead.
Redshirt sophomore Jimmy Hall impressed in his rivalry game debut, scoring 18 points to go with six rebounds and a career-high five blocked shots. Chris Ortiz added seven points and seven rebounds.
Kent State will be the No. 3 seed in next week's MAC Tournament and will play in the quarterfinals Thursday night at Quicken Loans Arena.
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