Kent State University
7-3
New Jersey Institute of Technology
5-6
Kent State Wins Third Straight at Home over NJIT, 87-71
12/10/2016 10:23:00 PM | Men's Basketball
KENT, Ohio – The Kent State University men's basketball team (7-3) won its third straight home game, defeating the NJIT Highlanders (5-6) Saturday, 87-71.
"It was a good game for us," said head coach Rob Senderoff. "We beat a quality opponent and there's a number of stats we could look at and I think we could play better, but it's a good win against a good team. There is a lot for us to continue to work on, which is also a positive, so we'll continue to get better."
Jaylin Walker had the best night of his career, scoring 29 points on 10-for-16 shooting. He shot 6-for-10 from 3-point range and was perfect from the foul line. He also tallied five rebounds, three on offense. Jimmy Hall earned a double-double with a season-best 26 points on 9-for-14 shooting. He also had a team-best 10 rebounds and four assists. Deon Edwin led the team in assists on a career-high six, to go with nine points and four rebounds.
As in the last two victories, Kent State jumped out to an early lead and never looked back. The Golden Flashes established a 15-8 lead over the first four minutes of the period, led by a quick 11 points from Jaylin Walker. Over the next 13 minutes, Kent State continue to pour it on the road team. The Flashes outscored them 32-16, shooting 13-for-24 during that span. The Flashes finished the first half shooting 51.4 percent and took a 47-30 lead into the break.
NJIT made a run at the home team to start the second half, going on an 8-0 run that included a Damon Lynn 4-point play. The Flashes made three of their next four shots to pause the momentum, but NJIT followed up with seven straight points to bring the home team's lead to single digits at 64-55 with 10 minutes remaining.
While the offense built the lead, the defense would preserve it. Up nine points, the Flashes held the road team without a field goal for nearly five minutes. The Flashes held onto their lead, and a Jaylin Walker 3-pointer with 3:41 left put Kent State back up by 15 points. Kent State continued to get stops down the stretch and went a perfect 6-for-6 at the foul line to close out a 16-point win.
Overall, the Flashes shot an even 50 percent (32-for-64) from the floor and 43.5 percent (10-for-23) from 3-point range. The team was a perfect 13-for-13 from the foul line. NJIT was held to 39.4 percent (26-for-66) from the floor and 20.7 percent (6-for-29) from 3-point range. Kent State entered the evening leading the nation in offensive rebounds per game and won the rebounding battle again, 39-32.
Desmond Ridenour was 3-for-5 from floor and hit new career-highs with Kent State at nine points and six rebounds. Alonzo Walker and Adonis De La Rosa each had four points on a combined 4-for-5 shooting.
The Flashes will complete their four-game homestand after final exam week, taking on Wright State on Dec. 18 at 4 p.m.
"I think we have room for improvement still," Senderoff stated. "I think that we can still get better and that's a good thing. "There's still room to get better and room to improve, and that is going to be our focus from last week to this week."
