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Miami senior Kenny Hayes led the RedHawks with 19 points. Anthony Simpson, below, gets off a shot in front of Nick Winbush. Photos by Mike Smith.

The Golden Flashes came to Millett Hall with a 10-5 record on the year and had won five of their last six games, including a 62-60 win Saturday at Ohio.
Miami, on the other hand, brought a 3-11 overall mark into Tuesday’s tilt. Its last outing was a lopsided 73-55 loss at Buffalo.

Through the first 20 minutes, it appeared as though Kent State would post another road win while administering another thumping to the Red and White. The Golden Flashes dominated nearly every statistical category while building a 24-11 halftime lead.

Kent State led in points in the paint (10-0), points off turnovers (14-4) second chance points (8-2), and rebounds (20-14).

"We played good defense in the first half, except we didn't get any rebounds," said Miami Head Coach Charlie Coles, who earned MAC win No. 194 to tie former Toledo coach Bob Nichols for the career MAC win record.

"We had the worst combination you can have at halftime," Coles continued. "We give up nine offensive rebounds, and we turn the ball over nine times. So that meant they got nine extra chances to score, and it also meant we had nine less chances to score."

Shortly after the RedHawks trudged into the locker room, senior Rodney Haddix stood up and delivered a message – enough is enough; the losing has to stop.

"It was good to see his fire," Coles said. "It's better that they do it."

Haddix ended up with just three points in the game, but all three – as well as a key block - came during a frantic Miami rally in the closing minutes.

Classmate Kenny Hayes, meanwhile, bounced back from a four-point performance at Buffalo to lead the RedHawks with 19 markers. He scored the RedHawks only points (4) until midway through the first half and had one of the game’s biggest baskets when he hit a trey at 1:09 of regulation to tie the contest.

Kent State had a golden opportunity to win the game in the final seconds, as it did at Ohio, but Haddix came off the weak side to block an Anthony Simpson layup attempt.

Simpson’s tip-in and a pair of free throws by Chris Singletary gave the visitors a 51-47 lead with 3:42 left in overtime, but Antonio Ballard hit his only three-pointer of the game and Hayes canned four straight free throws to give Miami its first lead, 54-51.

After Rodriguez Sherman closed the gap to one with a pair of free throws, KSU got possession again with a double-team and steal near midcourt.

With 16 seconds left, the Golden Flashes had plenty of options.

"We didn't know which play they would run for him, but we felt they would go to (Singletary)," Coles said. "They've got three or four plays they run for him that all end up with him at the low post."

We ran an isolation play for Chris, and he drove it and just got a little bit behind the backboard," Ford said. "It's the same play we ran the other night at Ohio University, and he scored."

A Kent State turnover forced the Golden Flashes to foul, and Haddix made one of two free throws with six seconds left.

Singletary missed a trey at the other end and Sheman’s tip-in also failed to fall as the RedHawks celebrated their first home game in a month with their first win since Dec. 13 against Wright State.

“We had three possessions to win the game, and went 0-for-3,” Ford said. “At some point, you’ve got to make a jumper.”

Kent State shot 33 percent from the field for the game  and was 1-of-7  (14.3 percent) in overtime. The Flashes made 3-of-15 shots (20 percent) from behind the arc. Only one of the three came after intermission.

Singletary, who returned to the lineup Dec. 4 after missing four games with a torn miniscus, finished with six points while hitting just 2-of-12 from the field.

Asked if the his squad was in a shooting slump, Ford said, "It's not a shooting slump. It's who we are. We're  16 games in; I can't call it a slump. A shooting slump is like you are bad for three nights."

Coles, meanwhile, was happy to see a defensive performance more typical of the Red and White. "They shot 33 percent. That's a good thing for us," Coles said with a smile. "That's Miami defense."

"Every year, the best defensive team in the league is usually Miami," Ford said. "That is coach Coles' calling card.... With that being said, he knows that us shooting 3-for-15 (in three-point attempts) is some really good defense and (also) some of our inability to ever make a shot. We can't make an open shot to save our lives. I'm kind of at a loss. It's getting to the point where it gets a little frustrating."

Tyree Evans led Kent State with 23 points and was the only Flashes player to convert a three-point attempt. No other KSU player made it into double figures.

Joining Hayes in double figures for Miami was forward Julian Mavunga. Held scoreless in 17 minutes of court time in the first half, Mavunga scored all 13 of his points during the RedHawks second-half surge. 

"I'm a young guy, and the No. 1 thing for me is not getting lost in the game. At times, I feel as if ... my body is out there but my head is somewhere else. I really give credit to my teammates.... They keep me going and headed in the right direction."

He continued, "I'm definitely getting more comfortable as the season is going along with the more experience I get - being out there playing in big games."

 "This dude has the potential to be the best player in this league," said Hayes, a fifth-year senior who has seen a lot of MAC basketball .... Whenever he feels like it, and he wants to dominate, like he did in the second half, he can't be guarded. If he can just get a hold of that and stay consistent with it ... I don't think nobody in the league is better than him ... but  he's young. When he's a senior, he'll see what I was talking about."

After shooting just 26.3 percent from the field in the first half, Miami connected on 43.8 percent after intermission. The RedHawks also outscored KSU 16-10 in the paint and 11-2 off turnovers during that time

According to Coles, the second-half comeback was more than MAC victory No. 194 in his career. It energized the team.

"I love my team. I love my school - just like I love my family," said Coles, who also played at Miami. "I knew once I had seen (the players) emotions, that even if we lost, we had something to teach. We hadn't been that emotional all year."

After a month on the road, the RedHawks get another home date Saturday when they host Ohio University (noon). Kent State starts a three-game homestand as it hosts Bowling Green (2 p.m.)