
Big Second Half Propels KSU to Road W
2/14/2019 8:17:00 PM | Men's Basketball
KALAMAZOO, Mich.- Kent State scored a season-high 51 second-half points to break open a close game as the Golden Flashes finished a regular season sweep of Western Michigan thanks to an 82-63 victory at University Arena on Thursday night.
The Flashes (18-6; 7-4) got 25 points from Mid-American Conference leading scorer Jaylin Walker and 17 from Mitch Peterson. Walker was turnover-free and Peterson buried five three-pointers in the game. Philip Whittington recorded his sixth double-double of the campaign with a 17-point, 13 rebound performance.
The first half opened with Western Michigan hitting a three-pointer only to be answered by Peterson with a shot from beyond the arc. Kent State then opened a 7-0 scoring run that was fueled by back-to-back 3-pointers from Peterson that gave the Flashes a 15-8 lead.
Both teams struggled to put together any offense as the Flashes and Broncos went scoreless for over three minutes of play. During the drought, Kent State forced four turnovers and was able to break through with a lay-up from Peterson that extended the Flashes' lead to 20-12 with 8:41 to play.
The Broncos used a 6-0 run which came exclusively from the free throw line, and were able to tie the game at 25 with 3:08 left. The Broncos took a brief lead after a dunk, but a layup from Whittington and two free throws from Roberts sent the Flashes into the break with a 31-30 lead.
The good guys scored 12 of the first 19 second-half points to force WMU into a timeout. KSU then bopped the Broncs with a 12-2 run over a three-minute stretch, highlighted by a floater from Walker to give the Flashes a 50-39 lead. Kent State then held Western scoreless for nearly four minutes and used another double-digit run that put the Flashes ahead 66-49 with 6:47 left to play.
The win, which is KSU's third road win in league play, starts a challenging stretch for the Golden Flashes. Kent will host Eastern Michigan on Saturday and then travel right back to the mitten next Monday for a Tuesday night battle with Central Michigan. Both games are slated for 7 p.m. starts.