 KENT STATE 69, ARKANSAS STATE 54 FLASHES BUILD LEAD EARLY
Junior guard Randal Holt scored a game-high 17 points and added three assists for the Golden Flashes, who shot a season best 55.6 percent (15-26) in the first half. They built a 40-20 lead that was more than enough to earn the team its sixth win in the month of December.
Finishing with 11 points, senior guard Carlton Guyton was the only other player in double figures for a balanced Kent State offense that put 10 different players in the scoring column. Guyton also equaled a career-best seven rebounds, along with five assists and three steals.
“Basketball is one of the games when some days you have it and some days you don’t.” said Kent State head coach Rob Senderoff, whose team improved to 4-1 in true road games this season. “Our kids are used to winning, and they came in with a purpose and not caring about who did what -- just caring about us as a team.”
For the first time all season, the Golden Flashes led from start to finish. They hit six of their first nine shots for a 14-6 lead in the first seven minutes of the game.
DEFENSE SHINES
But the offense wasn’t the only thing clicking for Kent State. Up against a stingy Golden Flashes defense, the RedWolves were limited to only 27.6 percent (8-29) shooting in the first half. That included a 1-8 performance from beyond the arc.
“We needed to find a way to stop our two-game losing streak, and by doing that we had a lot of individual guys play well, and most of that started on defensive end,” said Senderoff.
In addition to the 55.6 percent first half shooting effort, freshman Devareaux Manley led a 5-of-10 Kent State showing from three. Manley hit 3-of-5 himself, including two in the final 47 seconds as the Golden Flashes closed out the half with a 13-3 run in the last six minutes. Manley ended the game equaling a career best nine points for a second straight contest.
ONLY EIGHT TURNOVERS
Kent State committed only eight turnovers for the second game in a row while forcing Arkansas State into 12 miscues that led to a 17-6 advantage in points off turnovers for the Golden Flashes.
“It was important win for us to get back on track.” Senderoff said. “The last couple of days in practice, all we worked on was defense, and tonight we did a great job defensively. Arkansas State is a good team, so I was surprised we were able to beat them as handily as we did. They are physical and tough to score on, but we got a couple of shots that went in early, and that really helped us a lot.”
Kent State returns home on Jan. 2 to face Shawnee State in the final non-conference game before MAC play begins on Saturday, January 7 at Buffalo.
Courtesy of Kent State Athletics
NOTES:
• The Golden Flashes are 4-1 in true road games this season
• Kent State is 6-2 in December giving the program its most wins in the 12th month since the 1999-00 season (6-1)
• Kent State improved to 5-0 this season when leading at halftime.
• The starting line line-up of Holt, Manley, Guyton, Henniger and Greene marked the sixth straight game in which the Golden Flashes have had a different starting line-up
• Deveraeux Manley, who made his third start of the season, is 6-10 from three and is averaging 9.0 points in the last two games
• Justin Greene is now ranked 13th all-time on the career scoring list at Kent State with 1,234 career points, passing Harlod Walton (1,232; 1988-92)
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