 MOREHEAD STATE 76, KENT STATE 58 "Randal had a great ball game; its the best he has played in a while, but we felt like that was something that was coming" said Head Coach Geno Ford.
Senior Rodriquez Sherman also had the touch from beyond the arc making three, three-pointers while totaling 15 points and six assists.
SEVEN MINUTE DROUGHT
In the first half, back-to-back three-pointers from Holt and Sherman tied the game at 20-20 for Kent State. The Golden Flashes then went nearly seven minutes without a field goal as Morehead State put together a 11-2 run, powered by Kenneth Faried. The nation's leading rebounder, Faried scored eight points in the run which opened up a nine-point, 31-22 lead for the Eagles at the four-minute mark. The margin would stay there as the team went into halftime.
Kent State trailed by as many as 16 in the early stages of the second half, but Holt, who shot 3-5 from three in the first half, stayed hot, hitting three straight threes in a span of three minutes to cut the margin down to seven (50-43) with 13:39 remaining.
Morehead, however, pushed its advantage back to 12 as the clock ticked under the 10 minute mark.
With the Eagles playing zone throughout, the three-point shot would continue to be an ally for Kent State. The Golden Flashes chipped away once more. Using another Holt three and two more from Sherman, KSU cut the lead down to only five with just over six minutes still to go.
MSU SEALS THE DEAL - AGAIN
With a couple of defensive stands Kent State had three opportunities to get closer but came up short. Morehead then closed out the game with a 13-1 run that sealed its 20th straight home win.
"We used a lot of energy to get it back down to five, but we did a bad job of guarding them inside, and it allowed them to get a couple of easy buckets on top of the rim," said Ford.
Holt ended the game shooting 7-12 from three after connecting on just 14-56 (25 percent) in the first 12 games of the season. His seven three-pointers in a game equals the mark for second most in school history and are the most by a Kent State player since DeAndre Haynes had seven versus Northern Illinois on Feb. 12, 2006.
GREEN HAMPERED BY FOULS
Michael Porrini was also in double figures with 11 points while leading scorer Justin Greene played just 23 minutes and fouled out with 5:46 remaining. Averaging 18.1 points at the start of the game, he ended the night with two points and four rebounds.
" Justin being in foul trouble was a huge factor in the game. It took away one of our best offensive players and one of our toughness guys who can rebound the ball," said Ford. "We have to learn from this and play better on the defensive end than what we did today. We played hard but it wasn't with enough effort to get it done against a good team on the road.
Faried posted his 11th double-double with 24 points and 10 rebounds to lead the Eagles.
The Golden Flashes return to action at home on New Year's Eve when they host James Madison at 2:00 pm.
Courtesy of Kent State Athletics |
