by Cleveland, OH; The fourth and final match-up of the Men’s MAC Quarterfinals between the Kent State Golden Flashes and the Western Michigan Broncos. Kent State came into the tournament at 21-10 on the regular season, while Western Michigan came in at 12-19.
Kent State was led by senior guard Marquis Barnett who had 18 points, 5 rebounds, and 1 assist including going 4-for-7 from three. Sophomore guard Cian Medley followed up with 13 points, 5 rebounds, 5 assists, and 3 steals.
“Great to get a win, up here in Cleveland. It was a long day sitting around watching the other teams play.” Head coach Rob Senderoff said after the game.
The Golden Flashes prevailed Thursday night despite their leading scorer Voncameron Davis having just 3 points in 15 minutes of play. ” Von picked up two fouls, had a rough night. But he will be as fresh as a daisy come tomorrow. I would expect him to play a lot better tomorrow.” Senderoff said.
While Western Michigan was led by senior forward Owen Lobsinger who finished with 16 points, 4 rebounds, and 3 assists. Junior guard Chansey Willis Jr. follwed up with 12 points, 6 rebounds
The game started off with a quick 4-0 run by Western Michigan, but Kent State erased that deficit no problem with a 9-0 run of their own. By time the first media timeout rolled around, the Golden Flashes had a 9-4 lead.
Both teams started off 6-for-12 from the field. But the difference was that Kent State went 3-for-5 from three to help give them the 16-12 lead they had with 12:04 left in the first half.
Western Michigan began to get back in this game, actually tying it up at 16 after a 8-0 run. But Kent State answered quickly with a 14-3 run of their own, getting the Golden Flashes lead back up to 30-19.
The Broncos true downside to this game was the three ball. They started off 1-for-11, shooting just 9% from beyond the line. While Kent State was the opposite, litterally lighting it up from three going 5-for-8.
A big part of that was thanks to Barnett who started off 3-for-3 from deep. He was feeling himself early on where all 18 of his points came in the first half alone.
At the under-4 media timeout in the first half, Kent State was able to get their lead up to 13 at 34-21.
As if that lead was not enough, the Golden Flashes finished out a phenomenal first half with a 9-4 run. By time halftime rolled around, Kent State held a 43-25 lead.
Western Michigan would refuse to go down without a fight. The Broncos started off the second half on a 7-0 run forcing Kent State to use their second timeout. But they still found themselves down 32-43.
Coming out of the half shooting 62% while holding your opponent to 29% is a recipe for success. Especially if you are a team that is down like the Broncos. Trailing 37-47 with 14:50 left to play, they were determined to make this a close game.
Western Michigan also made it a point to be more physical in the second half and it worked as they forced five Kent State turnovers compared to just six in the first half. The Broncos got their deficit down to as many as four when the trailed 47-51 with 11:03 left in the game.
The Golden Flashes decided to flip the switch back on after letting the Broncos get so close. Thanks to a 16-8 run by Kent State, they were able to get their lead back up to 67-55 with just 5:45 left in the second half.
More specifically, you could thank red-shirt sophomore guard Jamal Sumlin who had all 5 of his points on the run to help spark Kent State again.
But once again, Western Michigan refused to go away thanks to a quick 7-2 run. The final media timeout rolled around, and the Broncos found themselves trailing 62-69.
Western Michigan put up a fight through the very end. As they got the deficit down to 63-66 with just 54.8 seconds left in the game.
With that being said, a pull-up jumper by Medley would essentially ice the game for Kent State ensuring the victory.
With the 73-66 win, Kent State advances to Friday night where they will be taking on Miami around 7:30 PM. The exact tip will be 30 minutes following the conclusion of Game 1 of the semifinals.
