Kent State University
Albany
Walker Leads Flashes Past Albany, 70-68, Senderoff Claims Program’s Winningest Coach
12/28/2018 10:15:00 PM | Men's Basketball
KENT, Ohio- Kent State used a second-half surge led by senior Jaylin Walker to pull away in a close game and down Albany 70-68 at the M.A.C. Center. With the win, head coach Rob Senderoff recorded his 149th win at Kent State, making him the winningest coach in program history.
The Flashes improved to 10-2 on the season, the first time the team has started with that record since the 2007-08 season. The Great Danes fell to 4-10 overall.
Walker played a stellar all-around game leading the Flashes with 26 points and adding three rebounds, one assist, and two steals, while junior Philip Whittington added 14 points and grabbed a team-high six rebounds.
Flashes started the first half with a steal from CJ Williamson that led him to a one-handed dunk to put Kent State on the board. Albany would go on a 13-1 run over six minutes of play that put the Great Danes ahead, 13-5.
After falling behind by 11 early in the half, Kent State used a 10-2 scoring run that cut Albany's lead to 20-15 with 7:29 left to play in the opening half. The Flashes took their first lead of the game since the opening two points with a layup which made it 27-25. Kent State held the Great Danes scoreless for over 1:34 and used an 8-0 that put the Flashes ahead 31-25 with three minutes left to play, but Albany would close the half with a 7-0 run as the two teams headed into the break tied at 34.
For the first half, Walker and Whittington led the Flashes with 10 a piece. As a team, Kent State shot 11-of-31 (35.5 percent) from the field and 3-of-13 (23.1 percent) from long range.
The Great Danes opened the second half with a 3-pointer, but Kent State would use an 11-2 run to take a 49-43 lead with 11:22 to go in the game. A transition layup by junior Antonio Williams off the feed from Walker highlighted the run. With ten minutes left to play, Whittington cashed in on two free throws which gave Kent State its largest lead of the night, 51-43.
An 8-0 run by Albany squared the game at 51 with eight minutes to play, but a corner trey from junior Mitch Peterson gave the Flashes their lead back, 54-51.
KSU pulled away with a 5-0 scoring run, but Albany answered back with five straight points of its own and took a 66-65 lead with 1:49 to play. It all came down to Walker who drained a 3-pointer with 39 seconds left to put the Flashes in the lead, 68-66. The Great Danes had one last try but Kent State rebounded the shot leading up to Walker being fouled and shoot the final two shots at the stripe. Kent State would come away with a 70-68 win over Albany.
For the game, Kent State went 24-of-60 (40 percent) from the floor and 6-of-22 (27.3 percent) from long range. Despite being out-rebounded by the Great Danes 39-28, Kent State had 10 takeaways and scored 14 points off of the 17 turnovers committed by Albany.
Kent State wraps up non-conference play at home as the Flashes host Oberlin on Monday, Dec. 31 at 2 p.m.
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