by Kent, OH; The Kent State Golden Flashes kept their hot streak going with a 96-84 win over the Austin Peay Governers on Tuesday night. It was a return to the MACC (Memorial Athletic and Convocation Center) to celebrate 75 years in the building for the Golden Flashes and what a night it was as four different players scored in double digits. Delrecco Gillespie led the way by continuing his double-double streak with 22 points, 10 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals, and 4 blocks. “Something I feel like I could have been better at last year was effecting shots at the rim, so I really emphasized coming into the season to work on that,” Gillespie said about his 4-block performance.
Jahari Williamson followed up with 18 points, 1 rebound, and 1 assist which included going 6-for-7 from deep. “Honestly just shoot it with confidence,” Williamson said about his mentality tonight. Cian Medley was right behind with 17 points, 8 assists, and 2 rebounds. While Rob Whaley finished the double digit scoring with 15 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist, and 1 block.
The game itself started off with a 12-8 early advantage by Kent State. But you could tell right off the bat that Austin Peay came to play with their physicality as they stormed back with a 12-9 scoring run proving to the Golden Flashes that tonight would not be easy. With 9:22 left in the first half. it was down to just a 21-20 Kent lead. “Austin Peay is a good team,” head coach Rob Senderoff said following the win. “We had to battle through some adversity throughout the game when we were struggling defensively.”
Everything would slow down across the next six minutes as both team’s defense took it up a level. For the Golden Flashes, they could have grown a bigger lead than they did, but six turnovers early on was killing the offense as they had just a 29-25 lead at the under-4 media timeout.
The Governers would keep pace to end the first half as both teams scored seven points the rest of the way. But it would be Medley getting a very nice and-1 to go down to give Kent State a 36-32 halftime lead. Besides the Golden Flashes shooting at a better rate, both teams were very even in all categories.
Austin Peay would come out of halftime red hot as they went on a 13-5 run which included 5-for-7 shooting, and 3-for-4 from three point range. Senderoff and Kent State were shocked as they even turned the ball over on an inbound pass. The Governors simply came out with more energy to build a 45-41 lead with 17 minutes left in the game. “We came back after giving up the lead which was good for us,” Senderoff said following the game. “Austin Peay is very similar to a lot of teams in the MAC in being tough and physical.”
Kent State had enough though as they came out of their timeout on a 7-0 run to retake the lead at 48-45. The run helped spark the offense to keep it going and they still had a 56-53 lead at the under-12 media timeout. But the game would continue to remain very tight as Austin Peay continued to cause problems for the Golden Flashes. It ultimately became “Recco” time as Gillespie started to take over and help Kent State maintain a 69-67 lead with just seven minutes left to play.
Coming out of the media timeout, it would be Williamson knocking down back-to-back three’s to really get the crowd going. Williamson had himself a night as he got all of his points from beyond the arc. The Golden Flashes would keep their foot on the gas the rest of the way though as they outscored the Generals 27-17, leaving them no chance. Luckily for Gillespie, he continued his double-double streak with one final rebound within the last 90 seconds. “I just go get it off the glass and be a god,” Gillespie said postgame.
The 96-84 win makes it eight in a row for Kent State who are now 8-1 on the season and have not lost since opening night against Troy in overtime. The Golden Flashes next face Robert Wesleyan on Saturday right back at the MACC.
