CLEVELAND, OH -- Eighth-seeded Kent State (17-16, 8-10 MAC) continued its march through the Mid-American Conference Men's Basketball Tournament Friday with a 73-60 victory over No. 5 Bowling Green (20-13, 10-8 MAC) at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse.
The Flashes paved their path with outstanding shooting, connecting on 51 percent from the field and 66.7 percent (12 of 18) beyond the arc. With Bowling Green htting 37.7 percent from the field and 20 percent (4 of 20) on threes, KSU easily overcame a 16-9 Falcon edge in free throws.
Playing all 40 minutes, guards Jalen Sullinger (22 points) and Giovanni Santiago (20 points) accounted for much of the Kent State damage. The former . . .
Bowling Green's Marcus Hill tied for game high honors with 22 points, sinking 9 of 18 shots from the field overall and two of the Falcons four treys on the day. Forward Rashaun Agee contributed 15 points and grabbed seven caroms. He was seven of seven at the free throw line. The Falcons, in fact, were nearly perfect as a team, knocking down 16 of 17 charity tosses. That was not enough, however, to offset KSU's shooting success elsewhere.
Bowling Green grabbed an early lead, but KSU moved in front 14-13 at 11:43 on a layup by Hornbeak. The Flashes lead reached 10 points following Sullinger's triple at 3:23, and Kent State led by six (34-28) at intermission.
The Flashes owned a double-digit lead for much of the second half, but BGSU pulled within six at 55:49 with 7:34 to go. Kent State then went on a 15-6 run to claim its largest lead of the contest at 70-55 at 1:41.
Kent State will play for the MAC Championship Tournament title Saturday at 7:30 p.m. ET (ESPN2).
The winner of that game earns an automatic NCAA Tournament berth.