The Broncos put together a strong performance in the first half, holding Kent State to just 41.3 percent shooting from the field while WMU went 14-of-17 from the free-throw line. However, in the second half the Golden Flashes got into an offensive rhythm shooting a staggering 63.5 percent from the field to pull away from the Brown & Gold.
As a team the Broncos shot just 44.4 percent from the field while going 3-of-12 from long distance. WMU earned a quarter of its points from the free-throw line, going 20-of-30. Kent State dominated the glass outrebounding WMU, 36-24.
The trio of seniors Josh Davis, Seth Dugan and sophomore Michael Flowers each scored in double figures with Davis leading the team with 17 points. Davis was 6-of-9 from the field and ranked second on the team with five rebounds.
Both teams had 14 turnovers on the night with Kent State scoring 18 points off of turnovers while WMU scored 15. The Broncos edged the Golden Flashes in the paint, 30-28 and had 14 second chance points to Kent State’s, 10.
The two teams went back and forth through the first five minutes of play before Kent State nailed back-to-back three’s as part of an 11-1 run to gain an early 14-8 advantage. The Golden Flashes held a 17-12 lead at the midway point of the first half as WMU registered seven turnovers during the first 10 minutes of play.
WMU trailed 25-18 at the six-minute mark before striking fire at the free-throw line, knocking down seven straight free-throws to tie the game at 25-25. Western Michigan grabbed a two-point lead at the 4:30 mark thanks to a put-back dunk by Davis to highlight a 9-0 run for WMU.
To end the first half freshman Patrick Emilien registered his first dunk of the season to propel the Broncos to a one-point deficit at halftime. Davis had 10 of his 17 points in the first half as WMU shot a staggering 82.4 percent from the free-throw line.
The Broncos made their first three field goals to begin the second half to cut into the Kent State lead at 38-37. From that point on, Kent State’s Jaylin Walker took over scoring 10 straight points to give the Golden Flashes a double digit lead at the 12-minute mark.
WMU cut its deficit down to six with nine minutes remaining before Kent State went on an 11-0 run the next three minutes of play to gain a double-digit lead at 66-49. KSU extended its lead to 22 at the three minute, ultimately going on a 20-4 run to lead 75-53.
Down the stretch the Broncos made four of their final five field goals but were unable to chip into the Kent State lead as the Golden Flashes made six of their final seven field goals to earn the victory.