Kent State University
New Mexico State
Flashes Heating Up For The Sun Bowl Tournament
12/20/2022 11:01:00 PM | Men's Basketball
El Paso, Texas - The Kent State men's basketball team (8-3) travels South to take on New Mexico State (6-4) in the 61st Annual WestStar Don Haskins Sun Bowl Tournament. The tournament teams that will be participating are New Mexico State, North Carolina A&T, and UTEP. This will be the first time head coach Rob Senderoff and the Flashes play New Mexico State.Â
The Flashes are currently 4-2 overall in the tournament, including a win in 1999. This will be Coach Senderoff's third time in the past eight years at the Sun Bowl Tournament. The last time the Flashes played in the tournament was in 2019 when the team went 1-1. Giovanni Santiago is the only present Kent State player that has played in the tournament. In 2019 the Flashes fell in their first game of the tournament to UC Irvine 74-68 and won the consolation game against North Carolina A&T 85-71.
Flashes' offensive leader Sincere Carry scored double-digits (16) for the tenth time this season on Dec. 18 against Concord. Carry currently leads the Flashes in points (17.3) and assists (5.5) per game. Malique Jacobs follows dominating both sides of the court with 13.1 points per game and leads the NCAA with 4.0 steals per game.
Miryne Thomas scored double digits (13) for the ninth time this season against Concord on Dec. 18. Cli'Ron Hornbeak contributes heavily to the defense, leading the Flashes in both rebounds (6.6) and blocks (1.1) per game.Â
The Flashes will look to end the year on a positive note and battle in their last two games of the 2022 non-conference schedule. Â
Scouting New Mexico StateÂ
The 6-4 New Mexico State men's basketball team will return to the Sun Bowl Invitational for the first time since 1961. The New Mexico State Aggies will face Kent State after a long road trip that spanned over 7,000 miles. The Aggies defeated Northern New Mexico on Sunday night 95-53. Â Â
New Mexico State finished their most recent game against Northern New Mexico shooting 48% from the field while holding Northern New Mexico to a shooting percentage of 28%. Defensively, the Aggies recorded a season-high 13 steals which ultimately turned into 27 points off turnovers.
Forward Marchelus Avery made his first start memorable tallying a career-high 26 points and eight rebounds. Forward Shakiru Odunewu finished that game with 10 points and 10 rebounds in just 13 minutes of action to post his second career double-double.
Follow the Flashes
Kent State and New Mexico State can be heard on our Kent radio here.Â
Tickets for the 2022-23 season are on sale now. For questions regarding ticket information, email athletictickets@kent.edu or call 330-672-4455.Â
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.
