Kent State 80, Detroit Mercy 66
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Down by as many as 10 points in the first half, visiting Ball State overtook Northern Illinois in overtime to win 79-70 on Tuesday night. The Cardinals dominated the extra period, growing the lead to 12 en route to a 1-0 start in league play.
Leading scorers K.J. Walton and Ishmael El-Amin each scored 18 points, combining for 9-for-12 foul shooting and 19 second-half points.
Trendon Hankerson and Darius Beane paced the Huskies with 18 apiece. NIU shot 41.7 percent overall, but was just 5-of-19 (26.3%) on threes.
NIU at several points led by double figures and the home team led 34-28 at half. Ball State quickly erased the deficit, despite shooting .280 in the first half. The Cardinals got back in the game for good when starting forward Miryne Thomas hit a 3-pointer with 16:03 left in the game.
With the score 63-63 at the the end of regulation, Thomas and El-Amin sank 3-pointers to put BSU up six and the Cards didn't look back. Soon after, buckets by Brachen Hazen and El-Amin pushed the Cards up a dozen and they cruised to a road win.
Kent State 80, Detroit Mercy 66
DETROIT, MI --The Flashes shot 48.3 percent overall and 46.2 percent from beyond the arc while moving to 2-1 on the season with an 80-66 win over Horizon League foe Detroit Mercy at Calihan Hall.
Kent State built up a 10-point halftime advantage and finished off the titans for a double-digit win. Flashes senior Danny Pippin led all scorers with 23 points in 26 minutes, while Justyn Hamilton posted a double-double with 10 points and 13 goards. Mike Nuga (15) and Gabe O'Neal (12) also reached double figures for KSU.
Junior guard Antoine Davis paced the Titans with 21 points while playing all 40 minutes. Willy Isiani and Dwayne Rose Jr. contributed 15 apiece for Detroit, which shot 23.8 percent from the field and 36.4 percent outside the arc. The Titans made 18-of-20 charity tosses to help their cause.