 KENT STATE 57, ALABAMA-BIRMINGHAM 48 Kent State (5-1) finished a five-game home stand going 4-1, with its lone loss coming to Cleveland State on November 22nd. In addition, the Flashes got a bit of revenge on the Blazers after losing to them in Birmingham last season 75-69.
‘Sometimes you have to win ugly.” KSU head coach Rob Senderoff said after the game. “We just come off a great offensive performance (an 83-63 win Thursday night against Morehead State) where we really moved the ball well and made shots. Not every game is pretty. But when you shoot only 40 percent, got out rebounded, and committed 22 turnovers and still won by nine, to me it tells that your team is pretty good.”
The Flashes had four players in double figures, led by junior guard Randal Holt with 13 points. Freshman Chris Evans came off the bench to score 12. Senior guard Michael Porrini added 11, while fellow senior, forward Justin Greene, had 10 with seven rebounds and four steals.
UAB (1-6) was paced by senior forward Cameron Moore, who led all scorers in the game with 14 points. He also had seven rebounds and three steals. It was not enough as the Blazers lost their fourth consecutive game.
“I thought they (Kent State) were too physical for us in the second half.” UAB head man Mike Davis said afterwards. “We made way too many turnovers, and they made the plays you need to make off the dribble.”
The Blazers are off to their worst start in the history of a program that is now 32 years old. It began Division I play in 1978-79 under the late coach Gene Bartow.
After the game was tied in the early going at 3-3, and 6-6, the visitors from Conference USA used a 16-5 spurt to open their largest lead of the game, 22-11, at the 8:56 mark on a driving layup by Moore.
For the remainder of the half, KSU chipped away at the deficit, closing to four points on two occasions - the last being the halftime score 28-24 at the 1:37 mark when Evans scored on a slam dunk off an inbound pass.
UAB opened its lead using a pair of 3-point shots, but it finished the first 20 minutes connecting on just four treys hit 42.3 percent from the field overall. KSU fared even worse, connecting on just 9-for-26 from the floor (34.6 percent).
A key stat in the first half was turnovers as KSU committed 12, while UAB had 11.
“We are getting better as a basketball team.” Davis said. “The first half tonight was the best first half we have played all season.”
Nevertheless, KSU was fortunate to be down just four starting the second half, and came out fast in the second half. Kent State scored half’s first six points on a conventional three-point play by Porrini and a 3-pointer from the left arc by Holt to take their first lead of the night,30-29, just under two minutes into the period.
The Blazers then scored the next four points, two free throws by Moore and a left wing jumper by reserve forward Jordan Swing, to regain the lead 32-30 with 15:52 remaining.
The game was tied three times before the turning point in the game occurred. That happened when center Beas Hamga came into the game as a sub for UAB. Hamga’s name was not on the list of players in the official scorebook and the Blazers were assessed a technical foul.
Greene made both free throws to give the Flashes a 38-36 lead. It was a lead they would not relinquish. The play was part of an 11-2 run that opened a nine-point lead 45-36 with 7:36 remaining on a transition layup by Holt.
The closest UAB would get for the remainder of the game was six points on two occasions. The last was 50-44 with 3:17 remaining on a layup by Moore. But any hopes of a comeback were squashed when, on the next possession, Porrini drove the lane, made the basket and was fouled. He converted the conventional three-point play, pushing the KSU lead back out to seven at 53-46 before and KSU eventually won by nine.
One of the key matchups in the game was the battle inside between Greene, the reigning MAC Player of the Year, and Moore,one of the top forwards in C-USA.
“Last year he had 28 points and 16 rebounds against us.” Senderoff said. “The one thing we practiced on (was) trying to limit his touches.”
On the matchup, Davis said, “Both players competed hard. Greene is a very good basketball player. We wanted to make everything hard for him, and we did, but he made some key free throws.”
In the second half, the Flashes were clearly the better team as they shot 11-for-23 from the field (47.8%) but finished the game 40.8% (20-for-49). The Flashes turned the ball over 22 times in the contest, leading to 19 UAB points..
The Blazers only connected on 7-for-23 from the floor in the second half and just 36.7% (18-for-49) over the 40 minutes. They won the rebound battle in the second half,16-14, and owned a 34-29 advantage for the game.
Turnovers were a different story as UAB committed 23 turnovers, resulting in 16 KSU points.
The Flashes will now take their game on the road as they will not see the friendly confines of the MAC Center until January 2. Before then, they visit James Madison, Western Carolina, and Arkansas State along with participating in the Athletes in Action Classic hosted by Utah State University.
GAMEBOOK
KEY MOMENT: With the score tied 36-36 with 9:09 remaining, UAB was assessed a technical foul when C Beas Hamga came into the game and was not in the official scorebook. KSU’s Justin Greene netted the two technical free throws, giving the Flashes a lead they would not relinquish.
PLAYER OF THE GAME: RANDAL HOLT – KENT STATE. The junior guard from Bedford, Ohio led the Flashes with 13 points, 10 coming in the second half. He finished the game going 4-of-8 from the field and 4-of-5 from the line. His three-pointer at the start of the second half, gave KSU its first lead of the game at 30-28
KEY STAT OF THE GAME: The two teams combined for 45 turnovers (22 KSU – 23 UAB). They resulted in a combined 35 points (19 UAB – 16 KSU).
NOTES: The game was the third consecutive year the two schools have played against each other and the fourth lifetime meeting between the two-schools (3-1 KSU)…Randal Holt-KSU has scored double-digits in his last three games…Justin Greene-KSU has double digits in five of six games this year and is three points shy of passing John Whorton into 16th place on the all-time scoring list..Chris Evans-LSU has scored double digits in three of the first six games, all coming off the bench…KSU is 36-38 lifetime against Conference USA…Preston Purifoy-UAB his three-pointer marked the 500th consecutive game the Blazers have had at least one three-pointer in a game…Cameron Moore-UAB has scored in double figures in six straight games…MAC 2-0 vs C-USA so far in 2011-12 (Ohio defeated Marshall 70-68 on December 30 in Huntington)
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