Kent State University
6-8, 0-1MAC
Northern Illinois University
8-6, 1-0MAC
Men's Basketball Falls in MAC Opener at Northern Illinois
1/2/2018 11:05:00 PM | Men's Basketball
DEKALB, Ill. – The Kent State University men's basketball team (6-8, 0-1 MAC) began Mid-American Conference play with a road loss to the Northern Illinois Huskies (8-6, 1-0 MAC) Tuesday, 75-61.
"It's tough to win on the road in this league," said head coach Rob Senderoff. "Tonight we certainly had our chances. With seven minutes left it was a three point game. There's a number of tough missed plays back to back to back that we have to make. In order for us to turn this around we have to make those plays."
Jaylin Walker once again led the Flashes in the scoring column, finishing with 18 points on 5-for-17 shooting. He also had four rebounds, two assists and a pair of steals. Kevin Zabo was just behind him with 17 points and three boards. Adonis De La Rosa had a team-best eight rebounds, while Avery had a Kent State high three assists without a turnover.
The first half was close throughout, with Kent State holding the lead for over 13 minutes. The Flashes opened up on a 6-2 run to start the game and eventually opened up a 13-8 lead. However, any time the Flashes created a multiple possession lead, the Huskies would score or get to the foul line, where they were a perfect 11-for-11 in the first half. Kent State would work its way to a 30-24 lead with 2:51 left in the first half, the largest lead for either side in the first half. Northern Illinois ended the period with its best stretch, outscoring Kent State 9-2 down the stretch to take a one point lead at the break.
The Flashes started the second half well, working their way back to a five point lead at 42-37 with just over 16 minutes remaining. However, Northern Illinois would take over the game from there, with a seven point run putting them right back in the lead. Midway through the period, Northern Illinois went on a 14-2 run over a five minute stretch to give the Huskies their biggest lead to that point. A Kevin Zabo layup and free throw seemed settle down the home team, but the Huskies finished the game outscoring Kent State, 11-4.
"When you think back to our team last year, in the second half we were great defensively," noted Senderoff. "We were down at halftime in almost every game and came back to win it. This year it seems the opposite. We've had leads, we've been in games. In the second half we are really, really struggling on both ends of the floor in the second half."
Overall, Kent State shot 37.3 percent (22-for-59) from the floor and 72.2 percent (13-for-18) from the foul line. Northern Illinois shot 43.6 percent (24-for-55) overall.
The Flashes will play their first MAC home game Saturday at 7 p.m. against Central Michigan.
