 CLEVELAND – The saying “better late than never” is starting to fit with the Kent State Golden Flashes (19-13), after having defeated Northern Illinois 64-61 in the first round of the 2009 MAC Tournament.
For the third consecutive game, either in regulation or in overtime, the Golden Flashes won a game that they should have for all intents and purposes lost.
“I thought we were fortunate to win the game. I thought our kids battled and believed we were going to find a way to win despite trailing for most of the game,” Flashes head coach Geno Ford said after the game.
Jullian Sullinger made two free throws with 2:45 remaining as the Flashes went on a 14-2 run to take the lead for good and defeat the Huskies for the second time this season and the eighth consecutive time overall.
“We always say in our huddles just stay together... No one in the huddle thought we’d lose tonight, we had to buckle down and stick together,” Kent State's Mike McKee remarked.
The Flashes played this game without junior forward Chris Singletary. The native of Chicago was suspended by the University after his ejection from the Akron game for his shot punch on Nate Linhart early in the game.
“Chris [Singletary] is a big part of our team. It’s never a blessing to be without one of your good guys... There are probably 150 conference players who say they want to be put in in a crunch time, he’s probably one of the eight that actually mean it,” Ford remarked
Al Fisher led Kent State with 25 points. Twenty of those points came in the first half when the Flashes could have been easily out of the game as the Huskies were playing some excellent basketball.
Northern Illinois opened an early six-point lead 9-3 on a jumper by Michael Fakuade.
KSU then went on a 12-5 spurt to take their first lead of the game 15-14 at the 11:21 mark on a layup by Justin Greene.
Northern then used a pair of threes from Jake Anderson and Michael Patton to push the lead back out to five 20-15.
Kent State tied the score on two occasions the last being 23-23 at the 8:21 mark on a jumper by
Tyree Evans, filling in for the benched Singletary.
The Huskies then took their largest lead of the first half 39-25 at the 4:37 mark on a three by Mike DiNunno.
The Flashes scored the final six points of the period to tie the game 37-37 at halftime.
Both teams shot the ball well in the game’s first 20 minutes with both teams shooting exactly 50 percent.
“Everything fell for me in the first half. In the second half it was not easy, but my teammates really stepped up.” Fisher said
The Flashes took the lead at the beginning second half 39-37 on a layup by Tyree Evans.
The game then was tied on three occasions, the last being 44-44 with 15:54 remaining on a three by Anderson.
NIU then opened a six-point lead 52-46 with 10:14 remaining on a three by Michael Patton.
The lead went out to eight 56-48 at the 7:00 mark on a layup by Najul Ervin.
“It was a good game from a fan’s perspective. I thought our kids battled hard and gave us a chance to win a ball game. But Fisher put them on his back and he made some plays" NIU head coach Ricardo Patton said.
Jake Anderson, NIU’s leading scorer this season, led the Huskies with 19 points and Mike DiNunno added 13. The Huskies end the season with a 10-20 record.
The win sends Kent State into a quarterfinal matchup with the Buffalo Bulls on Thursday afternoon.
NOTES: Kent State is the sixth seed in the tournament the third time it has happened (last in 1998 defeated Akron) … Flashes are 18-5 lifetime at Quicken Loans Arena in MAC Tournament play … Al Fisher-KSU has scored in double digits in all four of his MAC Tournament game. His 13th career 20-point game …This was the first ever meeting between the Flashes and Huskies in MAC Tournament play … Al Fisher-KEU three pointer in the first half gave them at least one three in 327 games … KSU head coach Geno Ford collected his first ever MAC Tournament win and is 2-0 lifetime against NIU head man Ricardo Patton. The win was the 19th by the Flashes as they were the higher seed in the MAC Tournament … Jake Anderson-NIU scored in double digits for the sixth consecutive game and the 25th time this season … Huskies are 2-10 lifetime at Quicken Loans Arena in MAC Tournament play … NIU is 1-8 lifetime in first round games … Jordan Mincy-KSU set a MAC record playing in his 133rd consecutive game … Kent State eleventh consecutive win against the MAC West … KSU is 8-1 in their last nine MAC Tournament games
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