Kent State University
18-10, 9-6MAC
University at Buffalo
16-12, 9-6MAC
Second-half run dooms Flashes in road loss to Bulls
2/23/2016 8:20:00 PM | Men's Basketball
BUFFALO – Kent State watched a close game early in the second half take a sharp turn as Buffalo handed the Golden Flashes a 87-70 loss on Tuesday at Alumni Arena.
A Jimmy Hall layup with 15:30 to play put Kent State on top 43-41. The Flashes followed with a nearly-four minute scoring drought, however, as the Bulls used a 14-0 run to seize control.
A 20-point night from Hall and another solid performance by Khaliq Spicer, who posted a 13-point, 11-rebound double-double, were not enough to offset a Buffalo offense that made 11 consecutive field goals at one point during a 51-point second half.
"We just have to play better defense," said Kent State head coach Rob Senderoff. "We played well and kept the tempo where we wanted it for the first 25 minutes, but couldn't sustain it. They went on a big run and we couldn't get stops during that stretch."
Deon Edwin added 14 points for Kent State. The trio of Hall, Spicer and Edwin combined to go 20-for-36 from the field, helping the Flashes outscore Buffalo 40-34 in the paint. Many of the Bulls' points in the paint came in transition and not against the Flashes' set defense.
The Flashes won the battle of the boards 38-32 and outscored Buffalo on second-chance opportunities 22-10.
"We knew we had an advantage inside with Jimmy and Khaliq and did a great job of getting them the ball in scoring situations early," Senderoff said.
The Bulls dominated in production off the bench, however, outscoring KSU's reserves 49-11. They also upped the tempo in the second half, finishing the night with a 10-0 advantage on the fast break. C.J. Massinburg did the bulk of the damage for the Bulls, coming off the bench to score 21 points on 7-of-10 shooting, including 4-of-5 from three-point range. Nick Perkins added another 13 points off the bench, while fellow reserve Ikenna Smart added 11 points and seven rebounds.
Blake Hamilton scored 15 points for Buffalo, while Lamonte Bearden scored 11 points before checking out of the game after a pair of free throws with 4:20 to play.
Kent State is back in action on Saturday in a 3:30 p.m. tip-off at Miami University. The Flashes then host Bowling Green in the final home game of the regular season on Tuesday.
