KENT, OHIO – The Kent State Golden Flashes improved their overall record to 8-1 and a perfect 6-0 at the MAC Center with an emphatic 81-59 victory over the Cleveland State Vikings Saturday night.
Kent State completed. . .
“Another good team win.” KSU head coach Rob Senderoff said. “I am proud of this group, winning these three game decisively after the loss at Ohio State.”
Senior Antonio Williams led all scorers in the contest with 19 points, hitting 8-of-13 from the field with four rebounds, two assists, and two steals.
Williams was one of four Flashes in double figures as fellow senior Phillip Whittington scored 14. Sophomore Troy Simons added 13, going 3-of-5 from 3--point range and another soph, Anthony Robets, came off the bench to tally 11.
Cleveland State (4-6) was led by junior Algeron Eichelberger, who scored 14 points while pulling down eight rebounds. Sophomore Tre Gomillion registered 13 points and fellow sophomore Deante Johnson came off the bench to score 11.
The game was close in the early going. Cleveland State, playing the second of three Mid-American Conference opponents this season, opening as much as a six point lead (15-9) at the 13:56 mark when Gomillion came down the lane for a layup.
The Vikings still had the edge, 19-18, on a put-back by Eichelberger at the 9:57 mark. However, that would be CSU’s last lead of the game.
As in their previous two outings, the Flashes went on a decisive run. This one was a 26-3 explosion, led by Williams, Pippen, and junior Terrell Beck.
When the run was over, the Flashes had a 42-22 lead and went into halftime with a 48-29 advantage.
The Flashes shot 59.4 percent from the floor (19-of-32) going 4-of-9 from beyond the arc while turning the ball over just twice. KSU's defense held the Vikings to just 40 percent from the floor (12-of-30)
To Cleveland State’s credit, it came out stong at the start of the second half, scoring the first six points of the period -- all by Gomillion.
The Flashes, however, pulled away to a 25-point lead midway through the second half. When Roberts connected on a right wing jumper at the 10:44 mark, Kent State led 65-40. It finished with a 22-point advantage.
KSU finished the game at 52.4 percent from the field (33-of-63) while holding CSU to just 41.5 percent (22-of-53).
The Vikings owned a 34-30 edge on the board, but . Kent State won prevailed in the paint, 42-32, and off the bench, 29-22. KSU turned the ball over eight times to CSU’s 18.
The Flashes now will concentrate on final exams before a trip to El Paso, Texas December 16 and 17 at the Westar Don Haskins, Sun Bowl Invitational, where they will play UC-Irvine from the Big West Conference and either the home school Miners from Conference USA or North Carolina A&T out of the MEAC.