Kent State University
12-5, 3-1MAC
Ohio University
10-6, 1-3MAC
Flashes win fourth straight over Ohio, 89-82
1/16/2016 9:33:00 PM | Men's Basketball
KENT, Ohio – Xavier Pollard's 23 points led four Kent State players in double-figures as the Golden Flashes scored an 89-82 win over Ohio University on Saturday night at the M.A.C. Center. The win was the fourth in a row for Kent State in the series with the Bobcats.
Kellon Thomas added 20 points, Jaylin Walker brought 16 points off the bench and Jimmy Hall recorded a 15-point, 10-rebound double-double for the Flashes, who improved to 12-5 overall and remained in a first-place tie in the Mid-American Conference East Division. KSU's 3-1 mark also equals the conference's best record.
The Flashes trailed for most of the first half, but took a 38-37 lead into the break after Chris Ortiz stripped an Ohio player and then made a pair of free throws with six seconds to play.
Free throws also played a big role in KSU closing out the win, as Pollard, Thomas and Galal Cancer combined to go 9-for-10 from the foul line in the final 45 seconds after Ohio had trimmed a 16-point lead down to four points.
Walker and Cancer led a KSU bench that outscored Ohio's reserves 30-16. It was Walker who led a second-half spurt to vault KSU into a 16-point lead with 6:02 to play. The freshman was 5-of-8 from the field and 3-of-6 from three-point range in 23 minutes.
Cancer, meanwhile, changed the game on the defensive end by slowing Ohio's Kenny Kaminski, who scored his 20th and 21st point of the night from the foul line to give Ohio a 42-41 lead with 18 minutes remaining. Not only did Cancer shutout the Michigan State transfer the rest of the way, he only managed two field goal attempts over the final 18 minutes.
The Flashes slowed Ohio point guard Jaaron Simmons, who entered tied for the team lead at 15.1 points per game, and held him to just eight points. Simmons finished the night with nine assists, but four of them came in the closing minutes after the Bobcats began fouling to extend possessions left in the game.
Antonio Campbell led needed 17 shot attempts to score 21 points to go with a team-high nine rebounds for the Bobcats (10-6, 1-3). Gavin Block and Treg Setty added 12 points each.
The Flashes are back in action on Tuesday when they travel to Ball State.
Kent State Postgame Notes
• Kent State improved to 8-1 at the M.A.C. Center and is 15-2 at home dating back to Janury 14, 2015.
• Jimmy Hall recorded his ninth double-double in a Kent State uniform.
• Kent State matched its season-high with 36 free throw attempts (Nov. 18 at Southern Illinois) and converted 27 for 75 percent.
• Two Golden Flashes scored 20+ points for the second time this season. Xavier Pollard (23) and Jimmy Hall (21) did it at Pittsburgh on November 28.
• Redshirt senior Xavier Pollard has now scored 949 career points including his three seasons at Maine.
Postgame Press Conference
