 KENT STATE 72, WESTERN MICHIGAN 70 With the game tied at 72-72, Porrini first grabbed an offensive rebound with 30 seconds left to give Kent State an opportunity to take the final shot of regulation. Following a time out, the Golden Flashes ran the clock down to under 10 seconds when the 6’2” guard was isolated at the top of the key. Porrini, who had 15 of his team high 19 points in the second half, then delivered once again, hitting a 17-foot pull-up jumper to give the Golden Flashes their two point lead. He then stole a three-quarters court desperation in-bounds pass to seal the win and give Kent State’s its 23rd consecutive victory over a West Division opponent.
CHANGE IN PLANS
“In the final seconds, I was trying to get to the hole and possibly draw a foul,” said Porrini, who was 7-12 from the field and 5-6 from the foul line. “But they played off me a bit so I pulled up and hit the jumper.”
The final series of plays was set up after an 8-0 run by Kent State erased a seven-point (68-61) deficit with four-minutes left. The hero in last-seasons one-point win over the Broncos, senior guard Rodriquez Sherman was clutch again, capping off the run with a lay-up that put the Golden Flashes ahead 69-68 with 1:31 remaining. Demetrius Ward (19 points) followed on the other end of the floor with a pair of free throws to regain a one-point lead for Western Michigan (15-11; 7-5).
Porrini then begin his torrid stretch with an old-fashioned three-point play as Kent State went on top 72-70 with 1:06 left. The Broncos countered 20 seconds later with a Flenard Whitfield (24 points) driving lay-up that tied the score and set the table for Porrini’s late game heroics.
“We tried to go inside to Justin Greene, but when his jump hook came up short Mike (Porrini) was there with the huge offensive rebound in the paint and then had the presence of mind to pull it back out and give us a chance to take the final shot,” said head coach Geno Ford. “Coming down the stretch he played about as well as you could possibly play and did just about everything but sell popcorn in the stands. The jumper was a dagger, but the offensive rebound really won the game for us.”
EARLY BRONCOS LEAD
At the start of the game Kent State fell behind 15-6 in the first four minutes, but scored the next six points as part of a 16-5 run. Junior Carlton Guyton, who had six points during the stretch, capped off the run with a fast break lay-up to give the Golden Flashes a 22-20 lead at 9:23. Three minutes later, sophomore Randal Holt extended the lead to four (30-26) with a break-away dunk, followed by an inside lay-up before Western Michigan closed out the half with a 15-4 spurt that included nine unanswered points in the final minute to take a 41-34 advantage at the break.
The Golden Flashes came out of the locker room on a mission, forcing Western Michigan to miss its first seven shots from the field. The defensive effort transformed to the offensive end as Kent State tied the game on a pair of Porrini free throws and then took a two-point (44-42) lead at 15:42 on another fast break lay-up from Holt, who had 11 points, five rebounds and three steals.
Western Michigan would start to build up its lead five minutes later behind the Ward, who scored nine straight points at one point for the Broncos, who fell into a first place tie with Ball State for the West Division lead.
FIVE FLASHES REACH DOUBLE FIGURES
Led by Porrini, Kent State had five players score in double figures. Greene and Sherman each had 14 points and seven rebounds while Guyton added 12 points and Holt 11. The Golden Flashes shot 44.3 percent for the game, including a 51.7 percent showing in the second half.
Kent State returns home to the M.A.C. Center Thursday, February 24 against Buffalo. The Golden Flashes will also host Ohio on Saturday, February 26 as part of a two-game homestand.
NOTES:
• Kent State has swept the MAC West Division each of the last three years. The Golden Flashes own five of the seven cross-divisional sweeps in league history.
• Kent State held a 44-32 advantage in points scores in the paint.
• Kent State has score 20+ points off the bench in each of the last three games.
Courtesy of Kent State Athletics
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