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ATHENS, OH. – Senior guard senior Chris Singletary scored a game-high 22 points, including a three-point play with 33 seconds left to erase a 60-58 deficit and give Kent State (10-5, 1-0) a 62-60 win at Ohio (9-6, 0-1) in the Mid-American Conference opener for both teams. It was the Golden Flashes fifth victory in the last six games.
“Chris was an absolute monster and just refused to let us get beat,” said Head Coach Geno Ford, who won at his alma-mater for the first time in seven years on the Kent State staff. “He is a very talented player, and when he comes to compete and not dwell on bad plays, he is as good as there is and had another special game today.”
After Kent State dominated the first 20 minutes, the second half featured six ties and six lead changes - all in the last 10 minutes of the game. The Golden Flashes held a 43-31 lead after an Anthony Simpson baseline jumper with 12:47 left. Ohio then ran off a 15-2 stretch and took its first lead of the game on a steal and breakaway dunk by DeVaughn Washington at the 9:12 mark. Singletary quickly answered with a three-point play on the end to put KSU back on top 48-46.
Red-shirt junior Rodriquez Sherman tied the game at 56-56 with 2:18 remaining, but a pair of D.J. Cooper free throw’s at 1:23 left the Golden Flashes down by two. On the ensuing Kent State possession, Singletary, who shot 7 of 9 from the foul line, answered once again when he evened the count with two free throws of his own. The march to the foul line continued when Armon Bassett put Ohio back up two (60-58) with 50 seconds still on the clock.
After Singletary’s key three-point play, the Golden Flashes forced a traveling call on Washington to regain possession. Sherman converted one of two free throws and Kent State secured the win when a last second three-point attempt by Cooper fell short.
Ohio hit just 1 of 10 in the first seven-and-a-half minutes, helping the Golden Flashes jump out to a 15-2 lead, capped by a Simpson highlight reel dunk at the 12:44 mark.
Tommy Freeman would help Ohio forge an 8-0 surge with back-to-back three-pointers as the KSU lead was trimmed to five (15-10) less than two minutes later.
Freshman guard Randal Holt responded with a driving layup for Kent State and the Golden Flashes defense went back to work. Following a basket by Washington at 9:38, KSU held the Bobcats with out a field goal for over six minutes.
Tyree Evans took care of the offense, knocking down three first half three-pointers, which the Golden Flashes used to build up a 13-point (30-17) lead. Cooper, who led Ohio with 21 points, then scored five points in the final 21 seconds to leave KSU with a 30-22 lead at halftime.
“Unfortunately, our offense was really stagnant in the first half,” Ohio Head Coach Jim Groce said. “”You shoot 27 percent in the first half against a team like Kent State, you normally get blown out. Our guys kept righting and fighting and played with a great deal of pride.
“I think we just stepped it up on defense and on offense (in the second half),” Washington said.
Ohio shot just 36.4 percent for the game to equal the lowest mark by a Kent State opponent this season. The Golden Flashes shot 39.3 percent. Kent State travels to Miami on Tuesday for a 7:00 pm contest. The game will be broadcast regionally on the Ohio News Network (ONN).
Courtesy Kent State and Ohio U Athletics
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