 KENT STATE 72, BUFFALO 69 LATE NIGHT WITH MICHAEL PORRINI SHOW
For the second straight game, junior guard Michael Porrini provided the Kent State faithful with an electrifying play in the final 30 seconds. After Buffalo (16-10; 7-6) trimmed an eight-point disadvantage down to a single digit (70-69) with less than a minute left, Porrini caught a skip pass on the left wing, drove the baseline and threw down a tomahawk dunk that brought the crowd to its feet and gave the Golden Flashes a three-point lead with 19 seconds remaining.
“Mike (Porrini) is such a good competitor,” said head coach Geno Ford., whose Kent State team now has a one-game lead over Miami in the MAC East Division with three regular season games remaining. “He really isn’t much of a dunker, but he gets so juiced up in those situations. He’s only been here for one season and has already made three clutch plays to win a game at the end.”
Buffalo’s Bryon Mulkey (13 points) scored quickly to bring the Bulls back to within one, but sophomore Randal Holt drilled two free throws on the other end for the Golden Flashes, who finally sealed the win. A desperation three by the Bulls was blocked at the buzzer.
TWO SECOND HALF RUNS
Kent State used second half runs of 9-0 and 16-3 to erase a 10-point halftime deficit and build up the eight-point, 66-58 lead with five minutes remaining.
Down by 10 at the break, junior Carlton Guyton scored five of his game-high 19 points as the Golden Flashes shaved a quick nine points off the lead in just over two minutes.
Buffalo regrouped and held a five-point, 55-50, lead halfway through the second half when senior Rodriquez Sherman ignited the second Kent State surge of the period.
“We picked it up on defense; that was the most important thing,” said Guyton. “Defensive rebounding, that’s all Coach Ford was talking about. We ended up getting that key stop, and once we got the lead and we never turned back.”
Sherman began the 16-3 run with a three from the left corner. After a missed three-pointer by the Bulls, he secured a long rebound and went coast-to-coast to tie the game with a lay-up.
BUFFALO SHOOTING FALTERS
A free throw put Buffalo back up by one before Guyton scored on a fast break lay-up giving the Golden Flashes their first lead since the opening minutes of the game. Kent State then built upon the lead while the Bulls, who shot just 6 of 25 (24 percent) over the first 16 minutes of the second half after making 17-34 (50 percent) in the first half, continued to miss fire from the field. Holt, (nine points), capped off the run with just under five minutes left to go as he hit a three from the right wing.
Buffalo fought back by pounding the ball inside and made its next five shots to cut the lead to one before Porrini, who hit the game winning jumper on Monday night at Western Michigan, delivered in the clutch once again.
“It felt like the right thing to do,” said Porrini. “I knew even if I missed I was attacking the basket and trying to make something positive happen for the team.”
EARLY RUNS
Kent State came out of the gate with reckless abandon, jumping out to a 6-0 lead in the first three minutes of the game. Buffalo, however, came roaring back however with a 19-2 run to take a 19-8 lead at the 11:08 mark.
The Golden Flashes absorbed the run and managed to get as close as six points (25-19) on a Guyton three-pointer three minutes later, but Dave Barnett answered with one of the Bulls six first half three pointers. Kent State then fell behind by 13 once again before freshman Darius Leonard knocked in a three-pointer from the right corner to close the deficit to 10 (43-33) at halftime.
Besides Guyton, junior forward Justin Greene was the only other Kent State player in double figures. He had 15 points and a team-high seven rebounds. Sherman matched Holt with nine points while adding five assists and six rebounds. The Golden Flashes shot 50.9 percent (27-53) from the field and were 6-13 (46.2 percent) from three.
Zach Filzen had 17 points to pace four players in double figures for Buffalo. Behind Filzen, who was 4-6 from three and had 14 first half points, the Bulls were 6-10 from beyond the arc at the break. In the second half, Filzen shot just 1-11 (1-6 from three) as the team made just 1-10 from three.
The Golden Flashes host Ohio on Saturday, February 26 at 7:00 p.m
NOTES:
• Kent State and Kansas are currently the only two teams in the country that have won at least 10 league games in each of the past 13 seasons. Gonzaga (9-3 West Coast) and Creighton (9-8 Missouri Valley) could also join the list this season.
• Fourth straight game that Kent State has scored 20+ points from its bench
• Carlton Guyton (19 points tonight) is averaging a team high 16.5 ppg in the last six games
• Kent State is 14-0 all time at home against Buffalo
• Kent State has now won 13 straight at home against MAC opponents
• Kent State is 13-1 this season when scoring 70+ points.
• Kent State had 6 blocks (3 by Guyton) and has 110 for the season - second most in school history.
season half.
• Kent State has now won 25 straight home games in the month of February
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