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KENT STATE 78, MIAMI 57

MIAMI MFAs (MISSING FROM ACTION)
Miami, playing without standout forward Julian Mavunga and freshman point guard Quinten Rollins, helped lay the groundwork for its own demise with 16 turnovers in the first 20 minutes. Kent State used a 15-0 run midway through the first half overcome an early deficit and soon took control of the final contest before teams begin inter-divisional play.

It was the Flashes fourth consecutive win over Miami and moved Kent State (12-7, 3-2 MAC) into a four-way tie atop the Eastern Division, along with MU, Bowling Green, and Buffalo.

“We didn’t start the game particularly well.” KSU head coach Geno Ford said afterward. “We were fortunate to get some turnovers early, but I knew how good that team is without (senior forward) Julian Mavunga and they did not have him today.”

HOLT POSTS CAREER-HIGH
Sophomore guard Randal Holt led all scorers with a career-high 22 points as he connected on 7-of-11 from the field (including 6-of-8 from three point range). Senior guard Rodriguez Sherman added 14 and four assists, while junior guard Carlton Guyton came off the bench to score 12.

“I just cleared my head and relaxed and played the game like I have done all my life.” Holt said. He has scored in double-digits in three of the last four games

“He (Holt) is playing with confidence right now.” Ford said. “He has had a nice stretch of games for us lately. He was one of the few bright sports at Buffalo (scoring 16 points in the loss to the Bulls). We had guys looking for him (to take the shots).”

KSU garnered the victory with its best player, junior forward Justin Greene, scoring just nine points in the contest. It was only the second time this season that he failed to score in double-digits. Coming into the game, Greene led the Flashes in scoring averaging with 16.3 points per game. He did lead the team Sunday with nine rebounds.

Miami (8-11, 3-2  MAC) struggled mightily without Mavunga, and Rollins, who had  foot injuries. Both players tested their injuries in the pregame warm-ups, but were ruled out just before tip-off and  watched the game in street clothes from the bench

“We didn’t take care of the ball.” Coles said afterward. “Our guard play killed us. It was our weakness. It was horrendous.”

Senior forward Nick Winbush led the Redhawks with 15 points and 12 rebound, collecting his second consecutive double-double after scoring 11 points and getting 12 boards in their 84-76 win over Akron Wednesday night. Mavunga had a career-high 25 points in that game.

Junior guard Chris McHenry had 13 and sophomore guard Orland Williams had 12 against KSU, but it was far from enough as Miami absorbed its worst loss in MAC play since January 20, 2010 at Akron (69-49).

The game was decided midway in the first half. Even with their two missing starters, MU started strongly, and held a 9-2 lead at the 16:09 mark on a layup by Winbush.

FLASHES TAKE CONTROL
Both teams matched each others points until the 8:05 mark of the period when Miami grabbed a 22-18 lead after a Winbush layup, KSU scored the next 15 points over a 4:07 span to take complete control of the game.

Holt, who started the spurt with a three-pointer from the left arc, had a phenomenal first half, scoring 19 points as all four of his field goals were from beyond the arc. Six different KSU players scored points in the run that made the score 33-22 after freshman forward Eric Gaines finished a steal with a slam dunk.

“Randal stepped up to the challenge today.” Sherman said. “He has really played well the past four or five games.”

MU closed to within four points, 33-29, at the 3:09 mark on two Antonio Ballard free throws. It would, however, be the closest Miami could get for the remainder of the game.

Ballard finished with just five points on the afternoon, which tied for his second lowest of the season. He scored only five when MU lost at nationally-ranked Kansas on January 2..

PORRINI V. BALLARD
“Mike Porrini did a good job on Ballard today,” Ford said. “He had been a thorn in our sides almost every time we have played them. He had double-doubles on both games last year against Chris Singletary.”

Two free throws by Holt and a left wing jumper by Guyton gave Kent State a 37-29 lead at halftime.

The key stat of the first half, by far and away, was Miami’s 16 turnovers which KSU converted into 20 points. The Hawks shot the ball well going 12-for-23 (52.2%) and outrebounded the Flashes 22-12, but the turnovers were their undoing.

Kent State’s second half lead did not fall below double digits, and the hosts enjoyed as much as a 22-point lead (73-51) at the 4:04 mark on a layup by Sherman before winning by 21. KSU maintained a comfortable advantage by hitting 16-of-31 from the floor in the second half and narrowly won the rebound battle 18-16.

OFFENSIVE RHYTHM
“We made a lot of jump shots today.” Ford said. “But what I really liked today was our ball movement. We got the ball inside and outside, making extra passes to find the open guy. We had a nice rhythm offensively”

Both teams are back in action Wednesday night against Western Division foes. KSU travels to Muncie to face West Division-leading Ball State. Miami makes the long trek to Mount Pleasant to face the Central Michigan Chippewas in their new facility,

UPON FURTHER REVIEW

KEY MOMENT: Kent State’s 15-0 run midway through the first half proved to be decisive as the Flashes would not relinquish the lead. Six different players scored in the run to turn a 22-18 deficit into a 33-22 lead.

STAR OF THE GAME: RANDAL HOLT-KENT STATE. The sophomore guard from Cleveland, Ohio scored a career-best 22 points including 19 in the first half. His three-pointer at the 8:05 mark of the first half started the 15-0 run that propelled KSU to victory

KEY STATS OF THE GAME: 1) Kent State’s junior forward Justin Greene held to just nine points. Just the second time this season he had been held below double-digits. 2) Miami committing 16 first half turnovers (KSU converting them into 20 points). For the game MU had 22 turnovers (resulting into 27 Kent State points)

NOTES: The game was the 127th lifetime in the series, with Miami holding a decisive 84-43 advantage. Kent State, however, has beaten MU in six of the last seven games at the MAC Center and has a 20-10 advantage since 1997-98…KSU outscored Miami 36-14 inside the paint. In their victories they have outscored the opposition by an overage of 10.9 pts per game…Their 27 points off turnovers was a season high…their 24 bench points were the fourth most in a game so far this season…Miami’s 22 turnovers marked the third time in the last four games they have committed 20 or more turnovers…Kent State played their entire roster for the second consecutive game and third in the last four…KSU head coach Geno Ford is 4-1 lifetime against Miami and against head coach Charlie Coles…Coles is 22-25 lifetime against KSU…The game was televised on SportsTime Ohio…Kent State women’s head coach Bob Lindsay was honored during the game for winning his 400th game recently. The first head coach in MAC history (Men or women) have 400 career wins