• Blog
  • About Us
  • Links
  MAC Reporter Online

Flashes edge NIU with late free throws

1/11/2015

 
Picture
DEKALB, Ill. – Devareaux Manley scored all of his 19 points in the second half and Kent State hit some clutch free throws down the stretch as the Golden Flashes escaped their first road trip of the Mid-American Conference season with a 67-65 win at Northern Illinois on Saturday.

"We found a way to win a tough game," said Kent State head coach Rob Senderoff, whose Flashes improved to 10-5 overall and 1-1 in MAC play. "That's what you have to do in the Mid-American Conference. You have to find ways to win tough ones, and it’s even more satisfying when you can do it on the road on a night when you don't play quite as well as you'd like to. Devareaux Manley was great for us in the second half, and Marquiez Lawrence and Kris Brewer hit some big free throws."

Lawrence drilled two from the line with 55 seconds to play to give Kent State a 65-63 lead. After Anthony Johnson pulled down an offensive rebound and scored inside for NIU, Brewer broke the last tie, hitting the deciding free throws with 15 seconds to play. 

Anthony Johnson missed a runner in the lane for Northern Illinois (7-6, 1-1) with four seconds to play. The ball was batted around under the basket before Chris Ortiz secured the rebound for Kent State just as the buzzer sounded.
(CLICK READ MORE TO CONTINUE . . . )

The finish came with Kent State's starting front line watching from the bench. Jimmy Hall fouled out with 3:30 to play and Kent State holding a slim 59-58 lead. Khaliq Spicer followed him to the bench with 1:46 remaining and the game tied, 63-63. Hall finished with 15 points and four rebounds, while Spicer scored eight points and matched Ortiz with a team-high six rebounds.

After a first half that saw the teams play to a 29-29 tie, the final 20 minutes turned into a battle between Manley for Kent State and Jordan Threloff of Northern Illinois.

"Devareaux was 0-for-3 in a scoreless first half, but then he really heated up," said Senderoff. "When he gets going, he is as good as anyone. He hit 5-for-5 from three in the second half, and we needed every one of them."

Threloff scored 15 of his game-high 21 after halftime. The 6-foot-9 senior also grabbed a team-high nine rebounds, helping the Huskies win the rebounding battle 39-30 and take a 19-4 advantage in second-chance points. Northern also dominated the paint to the tune of 36-18. 

Kent State's biggest advantage came from the three-point arc, where the Flashes converted 40 percent of their shots (6-of-15) compared to Northern's 18 percent (2-for-11).

The Flashes also hit 21-of-27 from the foul line – a solid 77.8 percent for a team that began the day 59.5 percent of its free throws. Kent State was 11-of-13 from the line (83.3 percent) in the second half, including the all-important makes by Brewer and Lawrence in the closing minute.

The win ended Northern Illinois' school-record 11-game winning streak at home.

Kent State will return to the M.A.C. Center on Wednesday at 7 p.m. to face Eastern Michigan. Northern Illinois is at Buffalo (7 p.m. ET).

(Courtesy of Kent State Athletics/MRO Edit)


Comments are closed.
    Picture

    MAC Football 

    UPCOMING GAMES
    All times Eastern

    ​

    MAC FOOTBALL STANDINGS
    -- Final - 2022 -- 
    MAC EAST
    OHIO 7-1
    BUFFALO 5-3
    BOWLING GREEN 5-3

    MIAMI 4-4
    KENT STATE 4-4
    AKRON 1-7

    MAC WEST
    TOLEDO 5-3

    EASTERN MICHIGAN 5-3
    WESTERN MICHIGAN 4-4
    ​BALL STATE 3-5
    CENTRAL MICHIGAN 3-5

    NORTHERN ILLINOIS 2-6

    MAC Basketball 
    MAC BASKETBALL STANDINGS
    (Through 3-3-23)

    Team - MAC -- Overall
    Toledo 16-2 (25-6)
    Kent State 15-3 (25-6)
    Akron 13-5 (21-10)
    Ball State 11-7 (20-11)
    Ohio 10-8 (18-13)
    Buffalo 9-9 (15-16)
    Northern Illinois 9-9 (13-18)
    Miami 6-12 (12-19)
    Bowling Green 5-13 (11-20)
    Central Michigan 5-13 (10-21)
    Eastern Michigan 5-13 (8-23)
    Western Michigan 4-14 (8-23)

    RSS Feed

    Categories

    All
    Basketball
    Football
    Other

    Archives

    March 2023
    February 2023
    January 2023
    December 2022
    November 2022
    October 2022
    September 2022
    August 2022
    July 2022
    June 2022
    May 2022
    April 2022
    March 2022
    February 2022
    January 2022
    December 2021
    November 2021
    October 2021
    September 2021
    August 2021
    July 2021
    May 2021
    April 2021
    March 2021
    February 2021
    January 2021
    December 2020
    November 2020
    October 2020
    September 2020
    August 2020
    July 2020
    May 2020
    April 2020
    March 2020
    February 2020
    January 2020
    December 2019
    November 2019
    October 2019
    September 2019
    August 2019
    July 2019
    April 2019
    March 2019
    February 2019
    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014

Proudly powered by Weebly