KENT, OHIO – Senior Kevin Zabo scored 21 points and sophomore Danny Pippen added 17 with 18 rebounds to lead the Kent State Golden Flashes to a dramatic 90-83 overtime victory over the Miami RedHawks Tuesday night at the MAC Center.
With the victory, Kent State evened . . .
. . . its overall record at 15-15 and is now 9-8 in MAC play heading into Friday’s regular season finale at Akron. It was KSU’s third win in the last four games, allowing the Flashes to finish their home schedule with a 12-3 record.
“What a game.” KSU head coach Rob Senderoff said. “It was a great win on Senior Night. We had a lot of guys come up with huge plays. We stuck together, (although) it was not a perfect performance.”
The Flashes came back from a five-point deficit late with 53.5 seconds in regulation. A three from the top of the key by Pippen and then a driving layup by Zabo with 7.5 seconds remaining tied the game 75-75. After a Miami timeout with two full seconds left, the ‘Hawks inbounded the ball and Nike Sibande connected on a three from the top of the key to give MU an apparent victory.
As is customary on such plays, however, officials looked at the replay. They then waved the basket off when pictures showed Sibande did not get the shot off before the scoreboard hit triple zeros.
Kent State continued to hold momentum early in overtime thanks to Pippen. He gave quickly moved the hosts back in front on a jumper and followed with a layup off a great pass by junior Adonis De La Rosa. KSU pushed the lead out to six points 84-78 with 1:47 remaining on a driving layup by de La Rosa.
“He really saves us and cleans up a lot of our mistakes.” Zabo said of Pippen, who also had a big block in the waning seconds of regulation.
He’s “a life saver at the rim,” Ridenour said “He has come up with clutch defensive blocks for us. You can see how he has matured from last year to this year.”
MU closed its deficit to one, 84-83, on a pair of free throws by Sibande and an and-one by Jalen Adaway. However, the ‘Hawks, who came back from six points down in overtime Saturday to defeat Akron, could not pull it out again.
The Flashes hit six consecutive free throws in the final 56.2 seconds to gain a split of the season series with MU.
When asked about Sibande’s final shot, Zabo said “I thought I was the only person that thought the shot did not count. I was looking at the clock and I heard the sound (of the buzzer). He still had the ball in his hands.”
Zabo and Pippen led five KSU players in double figures, with Zabo adding six assists and three blocked shots. Pippen registered 18 rebounds collecting his fifth-double-double of the season. Junior Jalen Avery netting 17 with three assists, while De La Rosa added 15 and nine boards. Jaylin Walker also had 15 with a steal and a blocked shot.
Miami (15-15, 8-9) had five players in double figures. It was led by freshman Dalonte Brown with 19 points. Fellow frosh Nike Sibande added 17 with four rebounds and two assists. Isiah Coleman-Lands added 15 off the bench, going five-of-seven from three-point range. Jalen Adaway notched 13 and Bam Bowman scored 12 with four boards.
The 40 minutes of regulation play resembled KSU’s home game Saturday night against Bowling Green -- a nip-and-tuck affair with the Flashes prevailing 64-63.
MU opened an early 14-8 lead when Brown connected on a three-pointer from the left arc. The Hawks kept their lead for the remainder of the first half, although the margin was between two and three points. The visitors went into halftime with a 34-32 advantage.
At the start of the second half, KSU opened a 40-36 lead three minutes in when Walker connected on a three from the left arc.
From that point on, the game was close, with the two teams combining for 10 ties and 21 lead changes by the final horn.
Miami took a five-point lead at the 3:41 mark on a three from the right arc by Sibande, who had 11 in the second half. Zabo then countered with a three at the 3:11 mark.
MU pushed the again back out to five when Coleman-Lands, who went five-of-seven from beyond the arc, drilled one from the left side with 2:05 remaining. Darrian Ringo added a free throw with 1;40 to go, giving Miami a six-point advantage, 74-68.
The Flashes then made their move, using a 7-2 spurt on a pair of free throws by de La Rosa, a three from the top of the key by Pippen, a steal by sophomore Mitch Peterson and a layup by Zabo to tie the game with 7.5 on the clock.
When asked about the resiliency of the team late in regulation and overtime, senior Desmond Ridenhour said “We knew he had to get stops at the end of the game. That is what we needed to do to win. We showed great character tonight.”
NEXT:
Both teams return to action for their regular season finales Friday night. Both face rivals at 7 p.m. ET.
Miami hosts Ohio, while Kent State travels to Akron
NOTES:
- One key in the game was Miami senior Logan McLane, who had 23 points in the RedHawks overtime win at Akron on Saturday. He was in early foul trouble against KSU and did not score, registering four rebounds and three turnovers.
- MU shot 54 percent in the second half,. KSU was good on 57.7 percent from the floor. When the game moved into overtime, the Flashes hit four-of-six, while the Hawks were just two-of-six
- KSU made 18 turnovers which Miami converted into 20 points but the Flashes had 17 second chance points on the strength of 12 offensive rebounds.
- When asked about Senior night Senderoff said “We lost on Senior night last year (to arch-rival Akron. However, they got revenge winning the MAC Tournament Championship game, so I was very happy to get this one tonight.”
Both teams end the regular season on Friday with KSU making the short trip to Akron to face the Zips who lost to East Division title holders Buffalo while Miami entertains their arch rival Ohio in Oxford who bear Bowling Green.
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