Kent State University
Ball State
Golden Flashes Face Ball State to Begin Short Road Stretch
1/3/2022 11:13:00 AM | Men's Basketball
KENT, Ohio – The Kent State men's basketball team (6-6, 1-1 MAC) hit the road for the first of two road games this week against Ball State (6-6, 1-0 MAC) on Tuesday at 7 p.m., in Muncie, Ind.
The Golden Flashes are coming off a big-time win over Toledo at home on New Year's Day. It was Rob Senderoff's 100th career Mid-American Conference win and it ended a three-game losing streak for the Flashes.Â
The Flashes' defense was the story on Saturday inside the M.A.C. Center, forcing 17 turnovers on the Rockets and holding Toledo to just 35 percent from the field. A mixture of Sincere Carry and Malique Jacobs also held the MAC leading scorer, Ryan Rollins, to zero points in the opening half and just 14 for the game.
Carry led the Flashes in scoring against Toledo with a game-high 19 points, including 16 in the second half. He has led the Flashes in scoring in nine of the first 12 games and is top-10 in the MAC in scoring at 15.9 points per game. Â
Kent State had excellent production all over the court on Saturday with near double-doubles by both Jacobs and Justyn Hamilton. Jacobs scored 10 points and added nine rebounds, while Hamilton scored eight points and grabbed 11 boards. Giovanni Santiago also scored in double figures for the Flashes and Andrew Garcia recorded a career-high eight points.
Scouting the Cardinals
The Cardinals are coming off a tremendous come from behind win over Bowling Green after being down five points with 30 seconds to go. Miyrne Thomas made two massive plays in the final 25 seconds as he tipped in a missed free throw just before hitting the game-winning elbow jumper with just eight seconds to play.
Ball State opened Mid-American Conference play with big performances from their two leading scorers, Luke Bumbalough and Payton Sparks, who scored 21 and 20 points respectively. Thomas' eight points to go with 14 rebounds helped the Cards get the win.
The Cardinals are one of the better three-point shooting teams the Flashes have seen so far, making 37 percent from beyond the arc which ranks top-50 in the NCAA. On the flip side, Ball State gives up nearly 40 percent from deep which is bottom 15 in the country.
Follow the Flashes
Home tickets for the 2021-22 season are on sale now. For questions regarding ticket information, email athletictickets@kent.edu or call 330-672-4455.
The Flashes will conclude their two-game road stretch at Ohio on Friday, Jan. 7, at 6:30 p.m., on CBS Sports. Kent State will then return to the M.A.C. Center for back-to-back games against Northern Illinois on Tuesday, Jan. 11, and against rival Akron on Friday, Jan. 14.
For more information on the men's basketball team, follow Kent State Men's Basketball on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram, and visit kentstatesports.com for additional updates.
