Kent State University
Bowling Green
Flashes Head to Bowling Green Saturday for MAC East Matchup
1/23/2016 12:00:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Game Notes    Video    Live Stats        Audio
Kent State (13-5, 4-1 MAC) looks for its sixth consecutive road victory and four straight victory overall when it travels to Bowling Green (12-6, 3-2 MAC) Saturday at 4 p.m. The Falcons have deemed the contest their Centennial Game to celebrate the program's 100th season.
The Golden Flashes are won their 13th straight game against Ball State, 76-68, on the road Tuesday night. The Flashes impressed offensively, scoring nearly 14 more points than the MAC's top defensive team was allowing coming into the game and shot 51-percent from the field, all while leading scorer Jimmy Hall (14 points) played just 16 minutes while battling foul trouble. Xavier Pollard (22 points) and Kellon Thomas (20 points) both scored 20+ for the second game in a row, while Chris Ortiz (12 rebounds) and Khaliq Spicer (school-record 7 blocks) controlled the paint on defense.
The frontcourt of Jimmy Hall (15.3 ppg, 6.9 rpg), Khaliq Spicer (6.2 ppg, 5.6 rpg) and Chris Ortiz (8.1 ppg, 5.6 rpg) has helped Kent State control play around the basket. The Flashes own a +4.0 rebounding advantage while outscoring opponents 35.3-26.8 in the paint and 12.1-9.1Â on second chance opportunities.
The backcourt is led by Kellon Thomas (13.2 ppg) and Xavier Pollard (13.2 ppg). Jaylin Walker adds 7.9 ppg and Deon Edwin (5.0 ppg) has also shown the ability to score the ball for the Flashes.
Scouting Bowling Green
Bowling Green has transformed into a more offensive-minded team under first-year head coach Michael Huger. The Falcons are averaging 74.2 ppg, which is up nearly 8 ppg from last season, and shooting a MAC-best 39.0% from the 3-point line.
Spencer Parker and Zack Denny provide BG with two of the most versatile players in the MAC. Parker, the reigning MAC East Player of the Week, leads the Falcons at 14.2 ppg and adds 6.0 rpg. Denny leads BG with 7.2 rg, 1.6 spg, 2.13 3-pointers/game and 44.7% 3-point shooting.
Series History
•  Kent State owns a 70-84 record all-time vs. Bowling Green.
•  The first meeting between the schools was back on Jan. 23 1917. Fitting for that year, Kent State won the game, 19-17.
•  Since the turn of the century, the Golden Flashes own a 22-10 record in the series.
•  The Falcons are 51-23 as the home team in the series. The Golden Flashes earned their first win at the Stroh Center (opened in 2011) last season.
•  The teams have split the season series each of the past four seasons.
•  Bowling Green holds a 4-1 edge in games that have required an overtime period.
FLASHback to Last Meeting
• For the second year in a row, Devareaux Manley provided the go-ahead three-pointer in the final minute to lift Kent State over Bowling Green in an 81-80 victory at the Stroh Center on March 3, 2015.
• The Golden Flashes led 41-36 at halftime, but the Falcons were able to take a 59-53 lead with 10:28 remaining after an 18-6 run over a 7-minute stretch of the second half.
• Trailing 77-72 with 3:22 to play, Kent State clamped down on the defensive end and held BG scoreless until a three-point field goal at the buzzer.
• Out of a timeout, Manley sank a three-pointer with 46 seconds for a 78-77 lead. He finished with 18 points on 5-of-8 shooting from the three-point line.
• As a team, Kent State shot 54 percent from the field (28-for-52) and a spectacular 62 percent from three (13-for-21).
• Kris Brewer scored 21 points off the bench came on 8-for-9 shooting from the field and 5-of-6 from three-point ran.
• Jimmy Hall added 17 points and six rebounds and Derek Jackson scored 15 while going 3-of-6 from beyond the arc.
• Richaun Holmes led BG with 29 points, 9 rebounds and 4 blocked shots.
• Jehvon Clarke (12 points), David Joseph (10 points) and Delvin Dickerson (10 points) also scored in double-figures for the Falcons.
TV / Radio
The game will be broadcast on ESPN3, while Ty Linder and David Carducci will bring you the action on the Golden Flashes iHeartRadio channel and 640 WHLO.
Next Up For Kent State
The Golden Flashes return to the M.A.C. Center to host Eastern Michigan at 7 p.m. on Tuesday, January 26.
