Kent State University
6-7
Albany
12-3
Flashes Fall on the Road to Albany
12/28/2017 9:46:00 PM | Men's Basketball
ALBANY, N.Y. – The Kent State University men's basketball team (6-7) dropped its final non-conference game of the season Thursday, falling on the road to the Albany Great Danes (12-3), 78-68.
"Disappointed that we lost," stated Senderoff. "Albany is a very good team and they played well, especially in the second half. They are a 40 minute team, and for you to beat them, you have to play hard and play well for 40 minutes. Tonight we played hard but we didn't play great. But I give them credit for how they competed."
Jaylin Walker scored a game high 20 points while tallying six rebounds and three assists. He also picked up a pair of steals. Adonis De La Rosa scored 18 points on 8-for-11 shooting and grabbed a team-best eight boards. Jalen Avery was the lead distributor, with five assists and no turnovers.
The Flashes played with intensity on defense early, causing four turnovers in the first few minutes of the game. The Flashes jumped out to five-point lead in the first three minutes and played a close first half throughout. Albany went on a hot streak, building a 21-15 lead midway through the period. Eventually, the shooting marks met in the middle, allowing Kent State to tie Albany at the break, 29 all.
De La Rosa scored on a vicious dunk to open up the second half, giving Kent State an early two-point advantage. The Flashes continued to play close with the Great Danes for the first four minutes, but the Great Danes took control from there. Albany outscored Kent State, 17-6, over a four-minute period to give them the home team its first double digit lead at 52-41.
With just over six minutes left, Albany held its largest lead of the game at 65-49. The Flashes were able to cut the deficit in half with a series of trips to the foul line, trailing 69-61 with 2:14 left. However, Albany finished the game making six of its last seven shots, keeping the game in hand.
Overall, Kent State shot 41.2 percent (28-for-68) from the floor with just three 3-pointers. Albany shot an even 23-for-46 from the line and took 29 more free throw attempts. Kent State won the rebounding battle, 35-32.
Kevin Zabo and Desmond Ridenour each scored 10 points on a combined 8-for-10 shooting. Ridenour also chipped in four rebounds.
Kent State will begin Mid-American Conference play on Jan. 2 in DeKalb, Illinois against Northern Illinois at 7 p.m.
