Kent State University
3-0
Mississippi Valley State
0-4
Men's Hoops Top MVSU, 80-67
11/19/2017 6:25:00 PM | Men's Basketball
KENT, Ohio – The Kent State University men's basketball team (3-0) started the Savannah Invitational with a home victory Sunday, defeating the Mississippi Valley State Delta Devils (0-4), 80-67.
"This wasn't one of our better games but we are trying to get better as we move on," said head coach Rob Senderoff. "I'm happy to come out with a win. I thought in the second half we had six or seven minute spurt that we played really hard and well. We have a quick turnaround, so we'll have to watch some film, get better from it and then come out on Tuesday against a good team."
Jaylin Walker led the charge for Kent State in the scoring column with 19 points on 8-for-15 shooting. Adonis De La Rosa earned his second straight double-double, with a team-best 10 rebounds and 14 points. Jalen Avery was outstanding in the point guard spot, with a career high 10 assists to zero turnovers. He also had five points and four rebounds.
Kent State led for a majority of the first half, jumping out to a quick 10-4 lead in the opening minutes. The Delta Devils briefly took the lead at 11-10, but a 6-0 run put Kent State back ahead. While the Golden Flashes would not trail again, MVSU kept its deficit to single digits. Kent State led 32-23 with 1:46 remaining in the first and entered halftime ahead, 34-27.
MVSU challenged the Flashes at the start of the second half, as a 7-0 run tied the game at 38. The Flashes responded offensively, with a run that included multiple transition baskets and a Danny Pippen 4-point play. Kent State reclaimed its nine-point lead at 53-44 with 13:24 left, triggering a MVSU timeout.
The Delta Devils made one last push that cut the difference to six points, but Kent State would maintain its lead throughout. An 8-0 run put the Flashes ahead by 14 points at 65-51. The Flashes led by as much as 16 points, just before a 3-pointer by MVSU with 14 seconds left sealed the final score.
Kent State finished the game shooting 51.8 percent (29-for-56) from the floor and 34.8 percent (8-for-23) from 3-point range. MVSU shot 45.8 percent (27-for-59) overall. The Flashes finished with 32 rebounds, nine on offense, and limited themselves to 12 turnovers.
Four players ended the game in double figures, including a career-best 13 points from freshman BJ Duling. He shot 5-for-9 from the floor and also added three steals. Pippen recorded 12 points on 5-for-8 shooting, three blocks and two steals. Desmond Ridenour scored seven points while Mitch Peterson added five.
The Flashes will return to the M.A.C. Center Tuesday for a showdown with Southeastern Louisiana at 7 p.m.
