Live Blog: Kent State Men's Basketball vs. Western Carolina

FIRST HALF

0:39 ... Flashes clearing the bench with a 72-57 lead.

Just a few seconds ago, Kris Brewer drilled a 3-pointer from just inside half court as the shot clock was running out ... Before that the Flashes were 1-for-14 from the line.

K.K. Simmons has 10 points on 8-of-8 shooting from the foul line, joining Henniger in double digits.

2:56 ... Henniger back in, looking for a double-double and trying to help the Flashes finish off the win... Flashes now up 66-52.

4:33 ... Kent State lead is 64-45. Henniger is on the bench with a team-high 17 points and 9 rebounds as the Flashes try to close this out.

Spicer has given Kent State quite a bit in limited minutes ... 10 minutes, but 5 points on 2-for-2 shooting, 6 rebounds and a blocked shot.

K.K. Simmons is playing well. Aggressive and getting to the foul line.

7:15 ... Flashes lead is 56-40 with 7:15 to play. They continue to get out and run, but by creating turnovers ... including a great steal, bustout and athletic finish by Henniger, drawing a foul for a three-point play just a little more than a minute ago.

Henniger leads the way with 15 points and 8 rebounds, following up a great game against Saint Peter's on Sunday.


9:47 ... Some quick numbers during another timeout ...

Kent State is just 1-for-12 from the three-point arc, but still leading 47-40. That lead was just 10 before a 3-pointer by Tom Tankelewicz in transition.

Western had been 1-of-8 from three prior to that Tankelewicz three.

Henniger has 10 points and 7 rebounds.

Jackson has 9 points and three steals ... and he's 4-for-5 from the field, 1-of-1 from three.

11:17 ... Shooting is better for Kent State in the second half ... 8-for-15 so far ... and that's because Kent State is trying to get out and run a little more. Stat sheet says still only 8 fast-break points, but that's incorrect.

Derek Jackson had a steal and a fast-break dunk earlier after insisting he stay on the floor with three fouls.

Chris Ortiz is finding some success, and that's great because he had been struggling. This can be a confidence builder for the power forward.


15:35 ... Kent State has led by nine, but Catamounts hanging in there, down only 37-34.

Kent State has been playing with Derek Jackson on the floor despite three fouls ... and he just showed why he needs to be in there as he just ended Kent Sate's drought from the arc, hitting a 3 from in front of the Kent State bench.

The Flashes had been 0-for-9.

Henniger having another nice game, leading Kent State with 10 points, including 6-for-6 from the line. After an 0-for-3 first half from the field, he is 2-for-2 so far in the second half.

FIRST HALF

0:00 ... Kent State leads 27-22 at halftime

Kent State has to feel extremely lucky to be in the halftime locker room with a lead. The Flashes were stuck at 11 for what seemed like forever before the Kellon Thomas layup broke the ice.

They are still freezing cold from the perimeter, however ... 0-for-8 from 3-point range.

More frustrating are the misses from right on top of the basket. Despite 7 offensive rebounds, the Flashes are still looking for their first second-chance point.

And despite missing all of his four three-point tries, Dev Manley is a big reason the Flashes have this lead. He has 6 points, 5 rebounds, a blocked shot and three floor burns from diving on the floor. While he hasn't hit a three, he has done some other things like take the ball to the bucket and hit the mid-range jumper.

Hopefully the perimeter shooting heats up... But if not, look for Kent State to try to get out and run more in the second half. Only 8 fast-break points, and Western Carolina struggles in transition defensively.


3:49 ... Flashes have forged into the lead. Kellon Thomas sparked the run with a driving layup and some nice defense.

Manley continues to play well. He just had back-to-back buckets, both drawing fouls, and surprisingly he missed the cap on both potential three-point plays from the foul line.

Manley is also continuing to show more of his game, driving and finishing with a high left-handed floater, then hitting an elbow jumper after a pump fake and dribble.

It's 21-20 Kent State.

An 11-2 run for the Flashes.

8:33 ... Kent State has 6 offensive rebounds and no second-chance points.

Chris Ortiz just checked in and is already the 11th player used tonight by Kent State.

Down 15-11 early.

11:50 ... At the 12-minute timeout, Rob Senderoff has already used 10 different Kent State players. He continues to use his depth and try different lineups.

We've already seen Tabb back at the four playing for several minutes with Khaliq Spicer at the center spot.

A little bit of a sloppy start. Not much rhythm yet to the game. Nobody for Kent State has more than a bucket.



15:57 ... Good hustle and good ball movement for Kent State leading into this first timeout ... but not a whole lot to show for it.

The Flashes are 3-for-8 from the field and 0-for-3 from three-point range, and so far they trail 7-6.

Dev Manley was on the floor hustling for a loose ball seconds after the opening tip. A minute or two later, he showed from the left corner to get Brandon Boggs off of his feet, attacked the rim and finished. Those two plays show how much Manley has come after being thought of mostly as a spot-up shooter early in his Kent State career.

PREGAME

7:20 ... USC Upstate held off a late charge by Niagara to win 83-74 in the first game of tonight's Coaches vs. Cancer Classic at the M.A.C. Center.

Kent State vs. Western Carolina tips off in a little more than 15 minutes.

You can listen in online on iHeart Radio's Golden Flashes' channel right here ... http://www.iheart.com/live/Golden-Flashes-Radio-6068/

You can also listen in on WHLO 640 AM.

It's good to see Larry Hunter back here at the M.A.C. Center. I always liked his Ohio University teams. His teams always compete. This Catamounts team will be no different. It's pretty guard oriented team led by 6-foot-3 James Sinclair, 6-2 Trey Sumler, 6-4 Tom Tankelewicz all averaging double figures and all capable of hitting from well beyond the three-point arc.

Western Carolina will also like to post up its guards, so the Golden Flashes will have to be able to both contest deep threes and force the same players off of the block. Defending transition will also be a key, communicating and locating spot-up shooters.

Kent State should have an advantage in the post, especially if Mark Henniger and Melvin Tabb combine to play like they did on Sunday against Saint Peter's.

Tabb has learned how to play the four and can now play in combination with Henniger, as he did in that game to great impact. I know fans were also disappointed not to see more time for Khaliq Spicer against Saint Peter's, but the sophomore is ready.

The depth and versatility of lineups in this team is becoming a very nice situation.'

I was talking with Rob Senderoff the other day about how well Tabb played, and he said 'well, he has to. Everyone has to play well, because they know there's someone right behind them ready to come right in."