 KENT STATE 69, OHIO UNIVERSITY 66
night at The Convo.
The Golden Flashes (11-6; 2-1), who pick up their first road win of the season, were led by junior Justin Greene with 18 points and eight rebounds. Senior Rodriquez Sherman added 13 points, including a late game steal and lay-up with 10 seconds left that helped seal the win.
MISSED FREE THROWS
Ohio led by three (66-63) with two minutes remaining, but an offensive put-back by freshmen Eric Gaines pulled Kent State to within one at the 1:35 mark. Ohio¹s Asown Sayles then had two free throws with the chance to extend the lead once more, but he missed them both and Sherman cleared one of his season high six rebounds.
The Golden Flashes immediately went inside to Greene, but the 6-8 junior forward came up short on a jump hook with 53 seconds left. Kent State forced another stop on the other end as the Bobcat¹s D.J. Cooper missed a short jumper in the lane. After a time-out, Guyton drove the lane for the Golden Flashes and was fouled.
MADE FREE THROWS
With 24.4 seconds left he calmly hit two free throws as Kent State gained a 67-66 lead. After missing the last five games due to a suspension, Guyton finished the game with nine points in 28 minutes.
“(Carlton) Guyton is one of our best shooters; we have several guys who we trust in that situation, and he is certainly one of them. We were happy he was the one that was on the line.” said Head Coach Geno Ford. “He stepped up and showed some courage to knock them in.
Gaines then made another key play for the Golden Flashes knocking away the ball from Ivo Baltic and into the hand of Sherman who took off for the breakaway lay-in.
Cooper, who led the Bobcats with 17 points and eight assists, had two off-balanced looks at a three-pointer in the final seconds, but neither were on the mark as Kent State won for the second straight season in Athens.
“That was a huge play by Eric (Gaines). It just fell right into my hands, andI took off for the rim,” said Sherman. “I knew I had to finish it so I could give us the three-point lead and force them to make a tougher shot to try to tie the game.”
In the first half, both teams shot the ball well early on as neither squad led by more than three points the first 11 minutes of the game.
FINDING SOME "D"
Kent State then cranked up the defense, and after Ohio shot 10-16 (62.5 percent) to start the game, made just one of its next 10 attempts to close out the half.
During the defensive stand the Golden Flashes opened up a 10-point (32-22)
advantage, using an 11-1 run that was highlighted by points from five
different players. Kent State eventually took a 32-26 lead at the break as
the Bobcats scored the final four points of the half.
The Golden Flashes held a 38-25 edge in rebounding, including an 18-10
margin on the offensive glass, which they turned into a 14-7 advantage in
second chance points.
Kent State travels to Buffalo on Wednesday, January 19 as the Golden Flashes
are on the road for the third time in their first four MAC games. The 7:30
p.m. game will be broadcast live on SportsTime Ohio.
Courtesy of Kent State Athletics
NOTES:
- Kent State had 42 points in the paint tonight and is averaging 41.0 in
the last two games.
- Kent State has won seven straight and is 9-1 this year when scoring at
least 30 points in the paint.
- Kent State is 8-2 this year when Justin Greene leads the team in scoring.
- Kent State has held seven of the last eight teams to less than 70 points.
Ohio entered the game averaging a MAC best 75.5 ppg.
- The win was just the 10th victory all-time for the Golden Flashes in the
Convo.
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