FINAL FROM THE M.A.C. CENTER
Kent State 84, Ohio Northern 48
SECOND HALF
15:37 ... Kent State has extended its lead with an 8-0 run to open the second half.
Marquiez Lawrence has made some nice hustle plays and shown some skill since checking in early after Darren Goodson picked up foul No. 3.
Lawrence drained a pretty turnaround jumper from about 8 ft. on the right baseline. He also has a tip-dunk while running the break.
Jackson is up to 11 points, floating in his only second-half basket to this point after overplaying the passing lane, coming up with an easy steal and outracing ONU to the other end.
11:55 ... If there are any signs for concern with Kent State coming out of this opener it may be turnovers (9) and three-point shooting. The Flashes have hit just 1-of-14 from beyond the arc so far with the only hit being Thomas' just before halftime. In this half alone KSU is 0-for-7.
My gut feeling is that this poor shooting from the perimeter is an aberration. We know Dev Manley can hit from the arc. He is 0-for-3 from three tonight. Brewer led the league in 3-point percentage last season. He is 0-for-2.
4:47 ... The Flashes continue to pull away.
Jackson has just checked out with 18 points. An impressive debut with defense even better than his offense.
Getting our first look at freshman Tyler Scott here in the final five minutes. I had hoped to see more of Scott tonight to get a better gauge of his upside.
2:20 ... The Kent State lead is now 79-42.
Some numbers:
Jackson is 6-of-7 from the field with 4 steals to go with his team-high 18 points.
Goodson has 11 points on 4-of-9 shooting.
Thomas has nine on 4-for-6 shooting.
As a team, Kent State is 30-for-64 for 46.9 percent and just 4-for-19 from 3-point range. The Flashes have held Northern to just 26.5-percent shooting.
11:55 ... If there are any signs for concern with Kent State coming out of this opener it may be turnovers (9) and three-point shooting. The Flashes have hit just 1-of-14 from beyond the arc so far with the only hit being Thomas' just before halftime. In this half alone KSU is 0-for-7.
My gut feeling is that this poor shooting from the perimeter is an aberration. We know Dev Manley can hit from the arc. He is 0-for-3 from three tonight. Brewer led the league in 3-point percentage last season. He is 0-for-2.
4:47 ... The Flashes continue to pull away.
Jackson has just checked out with 18 points. An impressive debut with defense even better than his offense.
Getting our first look at freshman Tyler Scott here in the final five minutes. I had hoped to see more of Scott tonight to get a better gauge of his upside.
2:20 ... The Kent State lead is now 79-42.
Some numbers:
Jackson is 6-of-7 from the field with 4 steals to go with his team-high 18 points.
Goodson has 11 points on 4-of-9 shooting.
Thomas has nine on 4-for-6 shooting.
As a team, Kent State is 30-for-64 for 46.9 percent and just 4-for-19 from 3-point range. The Flashes have held Northern to just 26.5-percent shooting.
HALFTIME
I just realized I typed "first quarter" prior to the start of the game ... I'm still stuck in football mode apparently. No quarters in college basketball. Its halves of course, and Kent State had an impressive first one.
The lead is 41-20 at the break. After sweating out some games against Division II and III teams here over the years, its nice to see the Golden Flashes jump out to a nice lead early.
Defensively, the Flashes have been very good.
Nine steals, including three by Derek Jackson ... although the score sheet only has him with two. Kris Brewer has four steals. So, officially six steals by the Flashes starting backcourt.
KSU has held Ohio Northern to 28.6-percent shooting.
Kellon Thomas has looked very good coming back from offseason knee surgery. The sophomore point guard does not appear to have lost his quickness or his willingness to hit the floor. He drew a charge, tried to draw another, and also raced back to slow two Ohio Northern fast breaks after Kent State turnovers.
Thomas also drilled a three from the left corner just before the buzzer to give the Flashes this 21-point lead.
Jackson is having a very nice debut. He leads the way with nine points. Thomas has seven and Brewer has five. Add another four from Dev Manley and you get an idea of the depth and potential in this backcourt. As a group they can score and defend, and that's a nice mix in the Mid-American Conference where guard play usually leads the way ... especially at tournament time.
Defensively, the Flashes have been very good.
Nine steals, including three by Derek Jackson ... although the score sheet only has him with two. Kris Brewer has four steals. So, officially six steals by the Flashes starting backcourt.
KSU has held Ohio Northern to 28.6-percent shooting.
Kellon Thomas has looked very good coming back from offseason knee surgery. The sophomore point guard does not appear to have lost his quickness or his willingness to hit the floor. He drew a charge, tried to draw another, and also raced back to slow two Ohio Northern fast breaks after Kent State turnovers.
Thomas also drilled a three from the left corner just before the buzzer to give the Flashes this 21-point lead.
Jackson is having a very nice debut. He leads the way with nine points. Thomas has seven and Brewer has five. Add another four from Dev Manley and you get an idea of the depth and potential in this backcourt. As a group they can score and defend, and that's a nice mix in the Mid-American Conference where guard play usually leads the way ... especially at tournament time.
FIRST HALF
15:53 ... Kent State up 8-6 early. Some missed assignments early as the Flashes defense has allowed a few wide-open jumpers ... getting away with one, too, when Branden Rushton had a wide-open three from the left wing. He's one of ONU's all-time best scorers and is in their 1,000-point club.
11:39 ... Heading into the 12-minute timeout, Kent State's second unit did a nice job while putting together a 6-0 run.
Devin Carter hit a long jumper from just inside the arc. He has a nice stroke and will give the Flashes another player who can stretch the defense from the three spot.
Khaliq Spicer had a three-point chance on a dunk and a foul. Flashes have done what you need to do against a Division III team, winning the battle of the boards and limiting the Polar Bears to one shot.
7:42 ... Already seven players in the scorebook for Kent State as the Golden Flashes take a 22-12 lead.
Derek Jackson is already flashing those quick hands on defense. Only a minute after his first steal of the season, he picked the pocket of an Ohio Northern player in the backcourt and soared for a dunk to give KSU its 10-point lead.
Interesting to see true freshman Marquiez Lawrence check in during the first half. Early thinking was that the 6-foot-8, 200-pound forward from Marion-Franklin would redshirt this season.
Lawrence should remind fans of Q ... Haminn Quaintance. Similar athleticism and love to run and dunk. He's just not the finished product Q was when he arrived as a transfer from Jacksonville.
3:41 ... Flashes lead is 27-18 and the only real negative so far has been that they have been a bit careless with the basketball. Seven turnovers in the first 14 minutes ... most were traveling calls as players like Kris Brewer and Khaliq Spicer lost their footing while attacking the basket. But the Flashes have also made a few high-risk passes that have led to turnovers.
Flashes shooting it at a 50-percent clip while Ohio Norhtern is at just 31-percent.
Jackson leads with 5 points... four other players have 4 points.
11:39 ... Heading into the 12-minute timeout, Kent State's second unit did a nice job while putting together a 6-0 run.
Devin Carter hit a long jumper from just inside the arc. He has a nice stroke and will give the Flashes another player who can stretch the defense from the three spot.
Khaliq Spicer had a three-point chance on a dunk and a foul. Flashes have done what you need to do against a Division III team, winning the battle of the boards and limiting the Polar Bears to one shot.
7:42 ... Already seven players in the scorebook for Kent State as the Golden Flashes take a 22-12 lead.
Derek Jackson is already flashing those quick hands on defense. Only a minute after his first steal of the season, he picked the pocket of an Ohio Northern player in the backcourt and soared for a dunk to give KSU its 10-point lead.
Interesting to see true freshman Marquiez Lawrence check in during the first half. Early thinking was that the 6-foot-8, 200-pound forward from Marion-Franklin would redshirt this season.
Lawrence should remind fans of Q ... Haminn Quaintance. Similar athleticism and love to run and dunk. He's just not the finished product Q was when he arrived as a transfer from Jacksonville.
3:41 ... Flashes lead is 27-18 and the only real negative so far has been that they have been a bit careless with the basketball. Seven turnovers in the first 14 minutes ... most were traveling calls as players like Kris Brewer and Khaliq Spicer lost their footing while attacking the basket. But the Flashes have also made a few high-risk passes that have led to turnovers.
Flashes shooting it at a 50-percent clip while Ohio Norhtern is at just 31-percent.
Jackson leads with 5 points... four other players have 4 points.
PREGAME
5:57 p.m. ... I'll be blogging live from courtside at the M.A.C. Center for tonight's men's basketball season opener with Ohio Northern.
Several Golden Flashes are wearing blue warmup shirts with the word "Relentless" printed in gold on the back. That's the attitude head coach Rob Senderoff wants to see from this group. Senderoff seems to like the talent and athleticism on the roster. There are some new faces, however, who need to learn what it means to play the "Kent State" brand of basketball. Get on the floor for loose balls ... fight hard for every possession ... sit down defend for a full 35 seconds in a possession and not just 25.
Melvin Tabb is in street clothes tonight. He should be ready for Monday's game at Temple, however.
Anyone else remember the last time Ohio Northern visited the M.A.C. Center? That was back in 2009 when the Polar Bears were within three points just before halftime. KSU kicked the lead back out to 20-plus before ONU made a late run to lose by a respectable score of 75-66.
Ohio Northern has shocked a few Division I schools, including a 72-69 win at Oklahoma in 1980.
In addition to blogging live, I'll be on the radio with Ty Linder. We'll answer your questions posted here and on Twitter (@CarducciKSU) during the broadcast.
The radio broadcast can be heard live on WHLO 640 AM and also on iHeartRadio's Golden Flashes Radio network.
6:49 ... A little more than 10 minutes before tip here at the M.A.C. Center. There's a pretty good student crowd already filing into the north stands nearest the Kent State bench.
The athletic department has put gold pompoms on all of the seats of both student sections.
I'm looking forward to some extended playing time for some guys who may fight for minutes in the early going of 2013-14. That would include Tyler Scott, who will be playing organized ball for the first time in a year after sitting out last season. Scott has high-major ability, but he'll have a learning curve typical of most first-year players.
I have a feeling Derek Jackson will become a fast favorite of Kent State fans with his defensive intensity. He's one of the guys who "got it" with regard to playing Kent State-brand of basketball as soon as he walked in the doors as a transfer.
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