Kent State University
1-0
Cleveland State University
0-1
Men's Basketball Wins on Opening Night Over Cleveland State
11/12/2016 9:24:00 PM | Men's Basketball
YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – The Kent State University men's basketball team (1-0) started off the season with a thrilling victory in the Northeast Ohio Coaches vs. Cancer Doubleheader Saturday over Cleveland State (1-0), 79-74, in overtime.
"It's a great win," said head coach Rob Senderoff, "and I know you can look at the stat sheet and say we were up big and let them back in the game… you can look at anything half full or half empty…But this is a team that has all of these guys that have never played. For us to find a way to get a win, especially after giving away a 20-point lead, I couldn't be happier with how the guys responded. Now we have to get better as we head into Wednesday's game."
Four players scored in double figures Saturday, led by one of Jimmy Hall's best performances. Hall scored a team-best 17 points while bringing down a career-high 18 rebounds, five on the offensive end. He was also the team's top distributor at four assists.
"He was as good as he's ever played in my opinion," stated Senderoff. "19 points, 18 rebounds, four assists, just one turnover. I'm really happy for him, because he was so incredibly unselfish throughout the course of the game. Even in overtime, one of Deon's buckets was on an assist by him when he was doubled…last year he shoots that regardless. This year he makes the winning play, I couldn't be prouder."
Two freshman in Mitch Peterson and Danny Pippen made their collegiate debuts in strong fashion. Peterson scored 17 on 6-for-9 shooting and pulled down six rebounds. Pippen scored 13 points and notched four rebounds over 23 minutes. Senior Deon Edwin finished with 12 points, 10 of which came in an overtime period in which he shot 4-for-5.
Saturday's game saw the Golden Flashes dominate the first half before the Vikings came roaring back. Lockdown defense allowed the Golden Flashes to build a 29-8 lead in the first half. Cleveland State's Bobby Word made a 3-pointer 1:04 into the game, but the Flashes held them without a field goal for exactly 13 minutes. The bucket was followed by a Peterson 3-pointer to give Kent State its largest lead at 21 points. Over the final five minutes, Cleveland state heated up by shooting 3-for-4 from the floor and cutting the lead to 13 points.
Kent State's lead was nullified in the second half when the Vikings continued their hot shooting from the end of the first. Cleveland State shot 66.7 percent from the floor in the second half while going 8-for-12 from distance. They also shot 9-for-10 at the line. Kent State held onto its lead for most of the period, but Cleveland State took the advantage at 62-61 with 3:19 remaining.
A five point run rebuilt the lead to four points for Kent State, but the Flashes could not score in the final two minutes to close out the game. The Flashes did lead with 19 seconds left in the second period, needing one stop to finish the game up three points. They forced a tough shot by Word, but a wild rebound launched out to Jamarcus Hairston in the left corner, and the Viking nailed the second-chance shot with four seconds remaining to send the game to overtime.
Entering overtime, Edwin was shooting 1-for-7 from the floor, but that did not prevent the senior from putting the team on his back. He scored all four of the Flashes' field goals in the period and 10 of the team's 13 points. An Edwin steal and layup on the opposite end gave Kent State a 75-69 lead with 1:06 remaining. Although a Cleveland State trey cut it to three, Kent State was able to hold on for their first victory.
"He really struggled early but in overtime he was great," Senderoff said. "He's a senior and has to have a short memory. I'm really happy for him and proud of him. It's not easy when you're struggling the entire game to come up big in overtime."
Overall, Kent State shot 41.5 percent from the floor (27-for-65) and won the rebounding battle, 41-28. Kent State brought down 17 offensive rebounds on the night. They also won the turnover battle, 14-16.
Kent State will make its season debut in the M.A.C. Center on Wednesday against Mississippi Valley State.
