Kent State University
5-6
Northeastern
7-4
Men's Basketball Topped by Northeastern
12/18/2017 10:47:00 PM | Men's Basketball
KENT, Ohio – The Kent State University men's basketball team (5-6) started off its week with a home loss against the streaking Northeastern Huskies (7-4) Monday, 81-69.
Kevin Zabo and Jaylin Walker each scored a team-best 18 points Monday. Zabo shot 6-for-7 from the floor and a perfect 3-for-3 from 3-point range. Walker shot 7-for-14 from the floor and 3-for-7 from distance. Mitch Peterson had a team-best six rebounds while Jalen Avery had five assists and 12 points.
Northeastern entered the game on a four game winning streak and continued its strong play. However, the Golden Flashes came out of the gate the strongest, opening up on an 11-4 run in the first three minutes. The Huskies returned serve over the next three minutes, breaking out on an 8-0 run. With the lead going back-and-forth until the 10 minute mark, Northeastern went on a run that gave them the lead for the remainder of the game. They outscored Kent State 21-6 to build a double-digit lead and led at halftime, 38-31.
The 3-pointers started to fall in the second half for the Huskies, but Kent State nearly erased its lead despite the hot shooting. Trailing 47-37, Kevin Zabo made three straight 3-pointers, bringing the Flashes within a point with 13 minutes remaining. Northeastern went on an eight-minute stretch in which they had seven turnovers, allowing Kent State back in the game.
In the last quarter of action, the Huskies cleaned up the turnovers and reasserted themselves. A 14-2 run put the team back up by double digits at 61-50 with 7:31 remaining. Kent State worked the deficit down to nine points on multiple occasions but could not threaten down the stretch.
Overall, Kent State shot 51 percent (26-for-51) from the field and 40 percent (6-for-15) from deep. Northeastern finished at 56.5 percent (26-for-46) overall.
Desmond Ridenour and Adonis De La Rosa each came off the bench to score six points, combining to shoot 4-for-7. De La Rosa also chipped in four rebounds.
The Flashes will stay at home for a marquee matchup against Oregon State Thursday at 7 p.m. on ESPN3.
