Kent State University
15-7,12-6MAC
University at Buffalo
14-7,12-5MAC
Flashes Fall Short in Regular Season Finale to Buffalo
3/5/2021 10:15:00 PM | Men's Basketball
BUFFALO, N.Y.- The Kent State men's basketball team fell short to Buffalo, 81-67, Friday night inside Alumni Arena in the Mid-American Conference regular-season finale.
Kent State finishes the regular season with an overall record of 15-6. The Flashes 12-3 in MAC play and will be the No. 4 seed in Thursday's Quarterfinals of the MAC Tournament. Kent State will face No. 5 seed Ohio.
Buffalo jumped out to an early 11-6 lead to start the game and would lead by ten on three separate occasions during the opening half. The Flashes would pull back within one at 11-10, but a 14-5 Buffalo run gave the Bulls a 25-15 lead, Buffalo's largest of the first half. UB would go on to take a 33-24 lead into the break. Kent State struggled shooting in the first half only connecting on 8-of-34 (24 percent) shooting from the floor and only knocking down 1-of-13 from beyond the arc.
Kent State opened the second half scoring the first six points as the Flashes were able to trim the Bulls' lead to just three, 33-30. The Flashes wouldn't get any closer than six, but a 9-0 Buffalo run would seemingly put the game out of reach. A hook shot from Brock Bertram gave the Bulls their largest lead of the night at 72-56 with 4:54 left and Kent State never pulled within single digits over the final five minutes.
The Bulls dominated the paint, outscoring Kent State by a 46-34 count and also out-rebounded the Flashes, 43-30.
Senior Tervell Beck led the way and tied his career-high with 19 points. Junior Malique Jacobs finished with 16 points and a team-high six boards, while sophomore Giovanni Santiago scored 13 points and dished out seven assists.
The Flashes will open Mid-American Conference Tournament play on Thursday, March 11 at the Quarterfinals. The Flashes will be the No. 4 seed in this year's MAC Tournament and will face No. 5 Ohio. The game will start approximately 30 minutes after the first game. For information on this year's MAC Tournament, please go to our 2021 Men's Basketball MAC Tournament HQ Page.
