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KENT, Ohio – After a thrilling finish Saturday, Kent State (15-7, 6-2) avoided any late-game drama as the Golden Flashes steam-rolled Northern Illinois (8-12; 4-4), 76-46, at the M.A.C. Center Monday night. The win vaults KSU into sole possession of first place in the Mid-American Conference East Division following Akron’s 62-59 loss to Eastern Michigan.
Sophomore Justin Greene helped KSU extend its winning streak to five with a team-high 18 points. Senior Anthony Simpson chipped in 12 points and seven rebounds, while fellow senior Chris Singletary delivered 10 points, eight rebounds and six assists. Freshman Randal Holt poured in 11 points to round out Kent State players in double figures.
“We’ve had pretty good balance all year, and that’s been a theme for our team,” said head coach Geno Ford.
The Golden Flashes and Huskies would trade baskets for most of the first half before Greene sparked an 8-0 run with five points halfway through the period to give KSU a 28-18 lead. NIU would chip away at the lead, but Kent State responded, and Greene converted a lay-up just before the half to give KSU a 38-29 advantage at the break.
In the second half, the Golden Flashes used a stifling defense to pull away from the Huskies. KSU forced 15 turnovers, all of them steals, and held NIU to just 21 percent shooting and 17 points in the half. A 16-4 spurt to start the half pushed the lead up to 22 and all but put the game away. Holt led the charge with five points, while Singletary and Rodriguez Sherman both had four points.
Kent State continued to push the advantage before finishing with the 30-point margin of victory. It was KSU's fourth win by 17 points or more during the five game winning streak.
“We almost lost to Western Michigan on Saturday,” said Greene. “Coach Ford told us good teams do not play two bad games in a row, so we wanted to come out and make a statement, and that’s what we did.”
The blue and gold outscored NIU in the paint (36-24), off turnovers (20-10), second-chance points (19-9) and bench scoring (31-18).
Darion Anderson was the only Huskie to finish in double figures with 12 points and eight rebounds. Entering the game averaging a MAC-best 24.0 ppg during league play, Kent State held Xavier Silas to just seven pints on 1-9 shooting.
KSU will be back in action on Thursday (Feb. 4) when the team travels to Eastern Michigan to face the Eagles. Tip is set for 7 p.m. Northern Illinois stays in the area with a Wednesday matchup against Akron (7 p.m.)
NOTES:
With eight rebounds Chris Singletary now has 401 for his career. He is the only active MAC player with over 1,000 points, 400 rebounds, 250 assists and 150 steals...Kent State is 8-0 this season when Anthony Simpson scores in double figures. Simpson had 12 points tonight...Kent State has won 14 straight over against the MAC West and 19 straight at home against the MAC West...The 18 steals by the Golden Flashes are a season high and the most since KSU had 22 in the first game of the 2002-03 season against Urbana (Nov. 24, 2002)...Kent State has held 10 of the last 11 opponents to less than 32 percent shooting from three...During MAC play KSU has held opponents to just 24.1 percent shooting.
Courtesy of Kent State Athletics.
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