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KENT, OH – What was that classic line John Belushi said in the 1970’s movie ‘Animal House’? Oh yes “It ain’t over till we say it is.”
Five times this season, the Kent State Golden Flashes have come back from second half deficits. Wednesday night at the MAC Center, they made it six as they fought back from a seven-point halftime deficit to defeat the Tulsa Golden Hurricane 75-74 in the first round of the 2010 National Invitational Tournament.
Rodriguez Sherman’s running layup with 20.8 seconds remaining in regulation capped off a furious final 5:01 in which there were nine lead changes and both teams converted on almost every possession. The game saw 17 lead changes overall and was tied on eight occasions.
Kent State (24-9) rebounded from a quarterfinal loss to Ohio in the 2010 FirstEnergy MAC Men’s Basketball Tournament in Cleveland to pick up the Flashes first post-season tournament victory since 2002 when the team went to the Elite Eight of the NCAA Tournament.
The Golden Flashes advance to the second round where they will face the Fighting Illini of Illinois out of the Big Ten Monday night in Champaign-Urbana. Illinois defeated Stony Brook 76-66 Wednesday in a first round game played on the north shore of Long Island.
“I’m glad I am not in Conference USA,” KSU head coach Geno Ford said after the game. “They (the team) are so tough, and they bounce back from adversity. They handle adversity better than they handle success.”
Senior Chris Singletary led six KSU players in double figures with 16 points, six rebounds and seven assists. Sherman added 15, all of which came in the second half. Anthony Simpson came off the bench to score 13 and pull down eight boards. Freshman guard Randal Holt scored 11, while Justin Greene and Tyree Evans each had 10.
When asked about the victory, Sherman said “It feels great. This is our first post season win in eight years. It was so big.”
Tulsa (23-12) completed its fourth consecutive 20-win season under head coach Doug Wojcik but ended the campaign with two straight losses. “Give Kent State a lot of credit for having a strong will at the end of the game and to win the game.” he said afterward.
The Golden Hurricane lost to Texas-El Paso in the semi-finals of the 2010 Conference USA Tournament. TU got a phenomenal game out of senior center Jerome Jordan, who led all scorers with 23 points and 12 rebounds in his final college game. Guard Justin Hurtt added 22 points and 12 boards, while guard Ben Uzoh had 14 and five assists.
Both teams probed in the early going with Kent State using a 7-0 run to take a 10-7 lead on a jumper by Singletary at the 13:57 mark. Tulsa regained the lead 15-13 on a left-wing jumper by reserve Bryson Pope.
After KSU took the lead back 17-15 on three made free throws by Holt, the visitors from C-USA used a 14-4 run to open an eight point lead 29-21 on a layup by Jordan at the 4:34 mark.
Jordan was strong in the first 20 minutes. The native of Kingston, Jamaica, who this season became not only Tulsa’s, but C-USA’s all-time leader in blocked shots, had 14 points and five rebounds. The Golden Flashes had no answers for him as he frequently found his way to the basket.
“We were in trouble in the first half” Ford said. “They were bigger and a little more athletic that we were.” When asked about Jordan, Ford remarked “He was a tough matchup for us all night.”
Tulsa built its largest lead of the game, 35-26, with 38.7 seconds remaining in the half when forward Bishop Wheatley hit a deep baseline jumper and the visitors went into halftime with a 35-28 advantage.
Kent State had a horrific first half shooting, making just 10-of-30 shots from the field and 1-for-10 from beyond the three-point arc. In addition, the Golden Hurricane had a decisive 25-14 rebound edge.
KSU started the second half strong, using an 8-3 spurt to close the gap to 38-36 thanks to a Greene layup at the 16:43 mark. TU pushed the lead back out to five on two occasions ,the last being 47-42 on a Jordan layup with 14:37 remaining.
Every time Tulsa tried to open a little bit of a cushion in the second half, Kent State responded. They got consecutive three-pointers by Sherman and Holt to tie the game 52-52 at the 11:41 mark.
When TU opened a pair of four-point leads, the last being 58-54 on two Hurtt free throws, the Golden Flashes picked up their first lead since the 12:48 mark of the first half when Evans scored eight consecutive points including two threes. The latter came from the right side of the arc and established a 62-58 lead with 8:08 remaining.
The Golden Hurricane responded with a 7-3 run to regain a 65-63 advantage with 5:42 remaining on two Uzoh free throws setting the stage for a dramatic ending.
During the nine lead changes it would be Kent State who responded after every Tulsa lead until Sherman’s runner to give the Golden Flashes the lead for good
Wojcik called his final timeout with 14.3 seconds remaining to set up a play. Kent State was in serious foul trouble with Greene, Singletary, and Simpson each with four personal fouls.
The ball was inbounded to Uzoh and the all-C USA player dribbled to the top of the three-point arc and then moved to the left baseline where he took a tough shot that bounced off the rim to the strong side of the floor.
“We decided to trap the ball because those guys torched us all night going one-on-one.” Ford said. “We were able to string him (Uzoh) out and was not able to see Jordan going to the rim…He took a tough shot on the baseline that he is more than capable of making.”
Singletary had great inside position on Jordan to get the rebound and send his players and the fans at the MAC Center into sheer pandemonium.
“Even though we won the league and won 24 games we went out and had our worst game of the year (the quarterfinal loss to the Bobcats) arguably at both ends of the floor and came back to find a way to beat a team that I have a lot of respect for.” Ford said.
Kent State has never defeated Illinois in four previous meetings. Last season they met in the South Padre Island Invitational, with KSU squandering a six-point second half lead to lose in overtime. Monday night they get another shot at the Orange and Blue in their building. At stake is an opportunity to move to the NIT elite eight.
NOTES: The game was the first ever meeting between the two schools…Kent State’s 24th win is tied for the second most in school history..KSU is 51-5 in their last 56 home games…Chris Singletary-KSU moved into 13th place on the all-time scoring list with 1,227 points passing KSU Hall of Famer and NFL All-Pro Antonio Gates…It was KSU’s first NIT win since 2000 at Villanova 81-67 and the first at home since Rutgers - also in 2000, 73-62…Kent State finished 2-0 this season against C-USA and has a lifetime mark of 35-35 against the conference…It was the MAC’s first win in the NIT since Akron defeated Florida State in 2008 (65-60 in double overtime)…Jerome Jordan-TU is just the third player in school history with 1000 points, 700 rebounds, and 250 blocked shots in his career…Jordan finished his career with 1508 points (eighth all time) and 983 rebounds (second all-time)…Ben Uzoh-TU finished his collegiate career with 1951 points (third all-time)…Tulsa finished 1-1 against the MAC in 2009-10 defeating Ohio on December 6th at the Reynolds Center 81-80…Tulsa made their 10th lifetime appearance in the NIT while participating for the second consecutive season (defeating Northwestern then losing to Auburn in 2009)…Tulsa had won the NIT Championship twice 1981 and 2001.
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