 KENT STATE 90, SHAWNEE STATE 65
Senior forward Justin Greene and senior guard Carlton Guyton paced the offensive output for the Golden Flashes, scoring 15 points each to highlight four players in double figures. Greene, who was 9-11 from the foul line, also added three steals, giving him 99 for his career and leaving him one shy of becoming the first player in school history to record over 1,000 career points, 100 blocks and 100 steals.
Located in Portsmouth, Ohio and a member of the NAIA Division I Mid-South Conference, Shawnee State displayed early in the game why it has already defeated two NAIA teams ranked No. 1 in the country this season. The Bears went toe-to-toe with the Golden Flashes for the first 10 minutes and held a 17-15 lead after two free throws at the 11:37 mark.
Kent State was then sparked by a 9-0 run, capped off by a three from freshman Devareaux Manley and never trailed again. The Golden Flashes eventually took a 44-31 lead at halftime before recording their seventh 50 percent second half field goal performance of the year to win going away.
“We hadn’t played at home in a long time and wanted to accomplish a couple of things. We accomplished a few, missed some others,” said Kent State Head Coach Rob Senderoff.
“With the game of basketball, you are not going to see perfection. We strive to be great every night and some nights are better than others. Tonight we scored 90 points and had four guys in double figures. We had 10 steals, more assists than turnovers and got to the free throw line 32 times, which is all pretty good -- plus at the end of the day we are 10-3.”
In addition to Greene and Guyton, who handed out five assists for the second straight game, junior Chris Evans and freshman Kris Brewer were also in double figures.
Evans was 5-7 from the field and finished with 13 points, five rebounds and four of Kent State’s eight blocked shots, which equaled a single game team record. Brewer, meanwhile, posted career highs of 10 points, five rebounds and five assists in 21 minutes of action.
Kent State travels to Buffalo for the start of MAC play on Saturday, January 7.
Courtesy of Kent State Athletics
NOTES:
• The 44 points scored in the first half are a season high for Kent State
• The Golden Flashes are averaging 42.0 points in the first half in the last two games
• Kent State tied a school record with 8 blocked shots. It was achieved 10 other times, with the last in the 2011 MAC Championship game vs Akron (March, 12, 2011)
• The 90 points are the most by Kent State since the team defeated Urbana 94-71 on Nov. 23, 2010
• Kent State shot 51.6 percent in the second half, marking the seventh time this year the team has shot better than 50% after halftime
• With 15 points Justin Greene moved up two places on the Kent State career scoring list. Greene is now 11th all-time with 1,249 career points. He needs 10 points to tie DeAndre Haynes (2002-06) and move into the top 10.
• Greene also had three steals bring his career total to 99. He needs one more steal to become the first player in school history to score over 1,000 points and have 100 career block and 100 career steals |
