Live Blog: Kent State vs. Cleveland State

SECOND HALF

0:00 ... Final from the M.A.C. Center, Cleveland State beats Kent State 78-70 

0:38 ... Kent State made a run to cut CSU's lead to three with almost two minutes ... but too many empty possessions after that point.

KSU trails 72-67 now, hoping for a miracle and some missed CSU free throws.

3:59 ... A chance to get something going here for Kent State as Goodson hit a three from the corner on inside-out action from Henniger ... That was followed by a steal by Henniger as KSU forced a turnover with full-court pressure.

Henniger now heading to the foul line after grabbing an offensive rebound. If the 95-pct shooter form the foul line hits both, it will pull Kent State back to within six points. The lead now is 66-58 for CSU.

5:13 ... Flashes continue to get out-worked. Now down 64-54 after giving up an easy offensive rebound and putback.

6:32 ... The lead is 60-54 for Cleveland State. Kent State will have the ball coming out of this timeout after Kris Brewer was trapped in the corner. All of the hustle plays right now are coming from the Cleveland State side.

Flashes also not helping themselves by splitting just about every pair from the foul line. The 55th best free-throw shooting team in the country is making just 62-percent tonight.

7:31 ... Cleveland State out-hustling Kent State over last two minutes, taking a 56-51 lead... Some careless passing by the Flashes, and also giving up too many second-chance opportunities during this mini run by the Vikings.

Momentum has clearly shifted in Cleveland State's favor.

The Vikings will have Jon Harris going to the line trying to extend the lead to 7 out of this timeout.

9:38 ... Kent State and Cleveland State are tied, 50-50 ... but some bad news as Darren Goodson had to be helped from the floor after an apparent leg injury suffered under the CSU basket.

11:56 ... Flashes down 48-42 and struggling a bit from the foul line. Derek Jackson leads all scorers with 16, but he is just 6-for-11 from the foul line. The good thing is he is attacking the rim and is a big reason the Flashes have drawn 6 CSU fouls compared to just one called on KSU.

Kent State needs to get Kris Brewer going. The point guard has just 2 points on 1-of-3 shooting.


14:55 ... Kent State trails Cleveland State 39-38 in a very entertaining game.

Darren Goodson has picked up his game in the second half. He got it started with his passing, finding Jackson on a give-and-go for a layup, then hitting Dev Manley for an open three.

Goodson also has a couple of difficult buckets in the paint.

Derek Jackson will be at the foul line for three shots after getting fouled on a second-chance jumper created by a Melvin Tabb offensive rebound and find.

FIRST HALF

0:00 ... Cleveland State takes a 30-28 lead at halftime on a 3-pointer by Bryn Forbes at the buzzer.

Derek Jackson had put the Flashes on top briefly at 28-27 with a pair of free throws with 24 seconds to play.

Jackson leads all scorers with 10 points at the break.

Marlin Mason has eight points to lead the Vikings – three better than his season scoring average.

Cleveland State's guards have been held in check for the most part through the first 20 minutes. Prior to that three by Forbes at the buzzer, all three starting guards for the Vikings and been held to one field goal each.

The hot shooting from the perimeter early was mostly pick-and-pop shooting by the forwards, and in particular Marlin Mason, who is 2-for-2 from three. The 6-foot-6 forward came in averaging just over 5 points per game. He has 8 in the first half.

I talked to assistant coach Bobby Steinburg here at halftime, and he said the keys to the second half are playing more inside out and not settling for the first jumper. He said Senderoff is also concerned with turnovers (8 against 7 assists) and the fact that CSU is beating KSU to loose balls.


1:04 ... Three consecutive stops on defense by Kent State and the Flashes have a chance to take the lead coming out of this timeout. Flashes trail 27-26 after an 18-foot baseline jumper by Melvin Tabb, who drew the foul on the shot and converted the free throw.

An offensive foul on Tabb trying to fight for position inside gives ball back to CSU.

3:39 ... Kent State wants to get out and score in transition... problem is, Cleveland State got off to a pretty hot-shooting start. While the Vikings have cooled a bit to just under 50 percent, Kent State only just scored its first fast-break point on a layup by Melvin Tabb.

Kent State trails 25-21.

Cleveland State's defense has been very good, using hard hedges to push KSU's offense further and further out on the perimeter.


7:54 ... Flashes hanging in through a somewhat tough-shooting start. They trail Cleveland State 20-17. Derek Jackson leading the Flashes with eight points on 3-of-3 from the field including 2-of-2 from three-point range.

KSU just called for its first foul more than 12 minutes in.

10:49 ... Four pretty ugly minutes for Kent State between timeouts. Only basket was a transition three by K.K. Simmons.

Cleveland State's lead is now 18-12. The Flashes are having a difficult time with the pick-and-pop shooting by the Viking forwards.

CSU is sizzling from three-point range, hitting four of its first five from the arc.

14:08 ... A nice flow to the first six minutes of this game ... and that's thanks in large part to D.J. Carstensen, Frank Spencer and Chuck Bullock allowing the two teams to play. 

The first foul of the game was just called almost six minutes in. Derek Jackson will be heading to the foul line coming out of the timeout trying to put the Flashes into the lead. Cleveland State leads 10-9.

Mark Henniger with a nice start, moving his feet on defense and keeping an offensive rebound alive when it looked like two Vikings had it corralled. That led to a 10-footer by Jackson.

Coming out of the timeout Jackson missed both free throws.

PREGAME

6:45 ... Back to the regular starting lineup for Kent State after a few changes during the trip to Charleston.

Manley back in the starting lineup along with Brewer and Jackson at the guards. Goodson starts with Henniger at the forwards.

Cleveland State doesn't have great size, so I'm hoping to see Kent State look inside first, and with the Vikings playing some zone it should give the Flashes some opportunities to get to the offensive glass. The Flashes come into the game ranked No. 55 in the nation in free-throw shooting at .736. Four guys are shooting better than 80 percent, so attack the rim and get to the foul line.


6:10 p.m. ... I'm not sure what kind of a crowd we'll have here at the M.A.C. Center with the students out for the holiday.

Hopefully we'll see 500 fans that may not have been attendance after Kent State's players and coaches gave away tickets at WalMart in Kent just before Christmas.

I talked with Rob Senderoff a little while ago and he said the players found a nice reception from the holiday shoppers.

More importantly, Senderoff said the team is rested and healthy after getting a few days off. Usually there is a player or two who returns to campus late after going home for Christmas. In fact, its often a starter who gets back late and ends up coming off the bench in the first game back. Good weather made it easy for players to find their way back to Kent in time for the first practice.

Just a little guess for tonight ... Darren Goodson will have a good game tonight. Watching him in shoot around he seemed to have a little extra bounce in his step. He was smiling and shooting it very well from the perimeter.


5:32 p.m. ... Kent State is wearing the gold uniforms today. The grey unis took their first loss in the last home game here against Bucknell. The superstitious Flashes usually stick with whatever wins. They won in blue on the road on Saturday at Charleston. KSU flies to Princeton early tomorrow, though, and will need the blues for that game, so with the quick turnaround the Flashes decided to go with gold tonight.

Cleveland State will wear its grey uniforms.

5:25 p.m. ... A reminder that Ty Linder and I will be broadcasting live tonight on WHLO 640 AM with a simulcast on iHeart Radio. Here's the link to the Golden Flashes iHeart station.

As usual, we'd like to make the broadcast more interactive. If anyone has any questions or comments during the game, post them below or tweet them to @CarducciKSU and Ty and I will discuss on the air.


5:03 p.m. ... We are just inside two hours before tipoff between Kent State and Cleveland State here at the M.A.C. Center.

I'm pretty excited to be back after taking a medical leave for a few weeks. My target game to come back was this one, and I'm happy to have been able to make it.

This should be a good one, too. It's still strange for me to see Gary Waters on the visitor's bench here at the M.A.C. Center. It's even stranger for me when Jim Christian is on that bench, and he is here next with Ohio University on Jan. 8. That's a bit of an odd back-to-back at home with two former Kent State head coaches coming to town.

Waters' team at Cleveland State may look a little like some of his old Kent State teams. The Vikings are guard oriented with an offense that loves to run Charlie Lee, Trey Lewis and especially Bryn Forbes off of screens.

Kent State's coaches think Forbes may be the best guard they've seen this season at cutting and getting his shot. He is athletic and has a very quick release. He is averaging a team-best 17.8 points per game with 46.2-percent shooting from three-point range. Of course, Derek Jackson will draw that assignment. It should be the matchup to watch.

Kris Brewer and Dev Manley will also have difficult assignments. I'm guessing Manley will be back in the starting lineup, and if so he will likely guard Lewis, a transfer from Penn State who is averaging 13.9 per game. Lewis likes to drive right, and while he's just a 30-percent shooter from three, he is streaky and capable of getting hot from the perimeter. Brewer would then get Lee, who at 5-foot-8 is a small-but-quick combo guard who can also get hot from long range. He is shooting 41.2 percent from three.

Limiting Miami transfer Jon Harris off of the bench could be a big key to tonight for Kent State. The 6-foot-7 lefty is athletic and a good pick-and-pop shooter. Marlin Mason starts at the four, but Cleveland State is at its best when the lefty Harris is on the floor next to Anton Grady. The Vikings are not particularly big with the 6-8 Grady the tallest of the players getting the bulk of the minutes for Waters. Ismaila Dauda is 6-foot-10 and a 250-pound load, however, who could be on the floor for 6 or 7 minutes.

Doubleheader Blog: Women's Basketball vs. Niagara, Men's Basketball vs. Bucknell

Kent State vs. Bucknell

Men's Basketball

SECOND HALF

0:00 … A disappointing finish to what was really a pretty disappointing game if you are a Kent State fan. The Flashes lose 66-59 in what was a pretty miserable shooting effort.

Talking with Rob Senderoff after the game he said several guys had off nights at the same time, and too often they tried to make up for mistakes or their struggles with what he called "hero" shots.

Goodson led with 18 points, but its hard for this team to click offensively if anyone shoots 17 times.

The Flashes were never able to get anything going inside, and that led to Henniger going scoreless on just three shot attempts. He didn't get to the foul line, where he was 35-for-35 on the home stand. But he was active with a career-high 18 rebounds. Talking to Eric Haut afterwards, and some of that was the way Bucknell defended in that they pack it in and don't really try to chase the pick and roll that has been so effective for Henniger this season. But the Flashes never did try to sustain any inside action, instead settling for almost 30 threes … and only hitting 25-percent from beyond the arc.


0:44.3 ... Bucknell doing everything it can to keep Kent State in it ... two missed free throws and a travel on the last two possessions ... But Kent State hasn't been able to do anything on the other end.

Brewer tried to draw a foul with a take to the hole ... no call... and Goodson with a missed three from the right corner.

Must-score possession here.

2:56 ... Flashes trail 59-55 but have the ball under their own basket coming out of this timeout.

Kent State had tied it before an Ayers three for Bucknell. Goodson hit a turnaround in the lane drawing a foul, but missed the free throw that could have tied it ... that led to another Ayers three and this four-point lead.

The Flashes need to score here and capitalize on a big break after Brian Fitzpatrick missed a wide open layup on the previous possession.

6:59 ... Bucknell took a lead on a 15-0 run, but Goodson with a driving layup in transition and a transition three, and Flashes back within two points at 53-51.

Goodson on a solo 6-0 run after Flashes fell behind by 8 points.

10:17 ... The Flashes have squandered the 7-point lead they had built at the 15:16 mark.

Bucknell is on an 11-0 run. Flashes taking bad shots and look a little flat-footed on defense.


15:28 ... Kris Brewer with a nice start to the half. He just stood his ground to draw a charge. He also has a pair of long jumpers coming off of screens.

Goodson may have rediscovered his touch with a pretty backdown jumper from the left block.

And a Kellon Thomas three coming out of the break has kicked the lead to 45-38

FIRST HALF 

0:00 ... K.K. Simmons with a  big spark off the bench has helped Kent State to a 31-29 lead at halftime.

Bucknell held a 6-point lead just before Simmons checked in late. The guard turned in several key plays - an on-the-floor steal while rotating to help against a screen, three from the left wing, and a tough defensive rebound in traffic

Goodson leads the Flashes with 8 points on 3-for-10 shooting.

Henniger has yet to score for the Flashes, but he has 6 rebounds.

Derek Jackson has done a nice job on Ayers. Bucknell's top scorer (15 per game) has yet to hit a shot from the field and has just two points from the line.

Flashes still outscoring Bucknell in the paint 12-10 despite taking more than half of their shots from three-point range.

3:50 ... Flashes falling in love a bit with the three. They aren't necessarily bad threes, but its hard sometimes to remember that the first open look isn't necessarily the best look you can get in a possession. It seems like the Flashes are finding that first shot from the deep right corner in front of the Bucknell bench, and right now the Bison is happy to give them that shot.

KSU is 3-for-14 from three. Bucknell is 5-of-9, with Brackney leading the way with 12 on 4-of-5 shooting from three. He hit one just a few minutes ago over the wingspan of the 6-9 Khaliq Spicer.

7:53 ... Missed no-call just helped Bucknell to another basket. A clear travel by Chris Hass extending the Bison possession.

Kent State defense has been average at best, and Flashes getting out-shot from 3-point range, 2-for-10 for KSU to 4-of-6 for Bucknell.

9:42 ... Bucknell lead is 20-17 ... Not doing a great job of defending the three so far (4-for-6 by Bucknell so far) ... and also not understanding some situations, allowing Fitzpatrick to drive left from the top when the scouting report says the forward is a drive-first guy, and a lefty.


15:28 ... Kent State's men's team can shoot it from three... We all saw that when the Flashes broke the school record for threes earlier in this home stand ... But there's no need to fall into a three-point shooting competition against Bucknell.

The Bison doesn't have a shot-blocker on its roster, and yet Kent State is spending most of its time on the perimeter early. That will change.

Flashes still lead 10-8 early after a three-point play by Brewer on a driving layup following a Goodson steal.

PREGAME

7:07 p.m. ... Just 16 minutes to tip here at the M.A.C. Center and Kent State's men trying to sweep the doubleheader following the women's team's blowout win over Niagara.

We are on the pre-game show now on WHLO 640 AM, simulcast online on iHeartRadio's Golden Flashes channel.

Got to defend the three and be smart defensively tonight because Bucknell will throw quite a bit at you offensively ... similar to the way Princeton keeps teams a little out of whack with all of their motion.

Bucknell runs a lot of the Princeton sets. Lots of screens, including the transition drag screen that the San Antonio Spurs love to run in the NBA. How the Flashes defend that late in transition will be a big key.

The Flashes usually want to defend and get out and go. That's a goal again tonight, but it will take a little extra poise in the defensive end before getting out and running with the basketball. 

 Kent State vs. Niagara

Women's Basketball

SECOND HALF

FINAL ... Kent State 69, Niagara 46 ...

The Flashes jumped ahead with a 21-2 run to close the first half and never looked back. 

Ashley Evans scored 15 points to lead the Flashes, who had four players in double figures. Montia Johnson added 11 points in a double-double performance that included 10 rebounds. Mikell Chinn and Cheylene Harper added 10 points each, and Cici Shannon pulled down 11 rebounds and blocked three shots. 3:30 ... Kent State has dodged the early bullet in the second half ... leading 63-40 and running away a bit now.

10:30 ... Tables have turned a bit as Niagara has out-scored Kent State 22-11 and out-rebounded the Flashes 10-6.

Kent State lead is down to 51-37.


11:47 ... Niagara is starting to make a bit of a move, cutting the Kent State lead to 51-34 on a layup play by a driving Chanel Johnson.

Shannon picked up two quick fouls in a row on blocks that looked pretty clean.

Scoring in the paint is 28-12.

Evans has 12 to lead the Flashes. Dunlap has 10. Hot hand for Niagara is Peterson, who leads all scorers with 15.

16:30 ... First bucket of the game for Lurken, and on a great drive and dish by Jontia Johnson to build Kent State's lead to 48-22.


18:08 ... Kent State outscored Niagara 29-2 from late in the second half through the early part of this half.

... and again, all of this with Lurken looking for her first points...

FIRST HALF

0:00 ... Dominating first half for Kent State's women, leading Niagara 40-15.

The Golden Flashes lost at Niagara by almost 30 last season. Pretty big turnaround for both teams.

Halftime numbers:

Ashley Evans and Amber Dunlap lead KSU with 10 points each.

Shannon already has nine rebounds and the Flashes are out-rebounding Niagara 27-13.

The Purple Eagles have made just 7-of-25 shots (28-percent), while Kent State is hitting 45.9-percent (17-37) despite making just 1-of-7 from three-point range. No need for the here when you are getting so many good looks in the paint.


2:01 ... An offensive rebound, putback, and foul shot by freshman Janae Peterson has extended the Kent State lead to 39-15 ... and the old-fashioned three-point play came on a missed free throw by Shannon.

All of this without a single point by Larissa Lurken, who is KSU's leading scorer so far this season at 11 per game.

4:47 ... Shannon, Johnson and Harper are dominating the inside as Kent State has outscored Niagara 22-2 in the paint.

Now hitting from the perimeter, too, as an Ashley Evans jumper from the wing has put Kent State ahead 35-13.

9:16 ... A three-pointer by Ashley Evans from the right corner has forced Niagara to call a timeout.

Flashes have better ball movement on offense since the last time I had a chance to see them play. Good to see them starting to gel. It hasn't taken very long with so many new faces.

Harper, who is a graduate student from Arizona, just hit another shot in the post off of a nice drop step. She makes a nice double post with Shannon. That duo is on the floor together right now.

Rebounding advantage is 15-7.

Shannon and Johnson have six rebounds each already.

11:09 ... A slim 14-13 lead for the Flashes, who are led at the moment by Montia Johnson's 6 points.

Johnson just hit a pretty turnaround in the lane. She has a real scorer's mentality, and at 6-1 she has the size and length to get that shot off in traffic. Cheylene Harper has also had an early impact off of the bench, hitting an elbow jumper off of a high-post catch coming out of this timeout. Add in a 3-pointer by Amber Dunlap, and the Flashes have built a 21-13 advantage with just inside 10 minutes to go. A nice 8-0 run in just one minute.

15:07 ... Flashes lead 8-6 after a steal and breakaway by Mikell Chinn.

It is very obvious the difference CiCi Shannon makes in the middle of this defense. She doesn't have a blocked shot yet, but just stepping up in the middle she has forced a travel by Donisha Watson. She has also helped to hold Niagara to pretty much one and out on the offensive end.

Shannon is the first dominant defensive presence in the middle for Kent State since Andrea Csaszar 10 years ago. Although, Tiffany LaFleur was also a presence inside defensively. Csaszar blocked 162 shots in her career (2000-02, 04). LaFleur blocked 109 (2003-07).

16:30 ... Good start for Ashley Evans, who has 4 points. Tied at 4-4 early. Defense has been solid for the Flashes, forcing three turnovers in first three minutes. KSU is shooting just 2-of-7 to start, however.

PREGAME

1 p.m. ... I'm looking forward to seeing the women's basketball team for the first time in quite a while. Tonight is a good opportunity for the coach O'Banion's team to string together a couple of wins. Hopefully the doubleheader along with the promotions of free tickets with a coupon from Facebook and a free mini basketball and gold t-shirt to the first 200 students will create a better home-court advantage for both the men's and women's teams.

These doubleheaders don't happen very often anymore, but I've seen it in the past where the men's crowd arriving early gets behind the women's team and really spurs them on, and then the women's crowd staying over helps create a bigger-game atmosphere for the men.

The addition of CiCi Shannon appears to be making a big difference, especially on the defensive end where she leads the Mid-American Conference and is among the national leaders in blocked shots. True freshman Larissa Lurken also looks like she has a very promising career ahead of her. She already leads the team in scoring at 11.0 per game while shooting 34.5 percent from three.

Niagara brings three players averaging in double figures in Meghan McGuinness (13.4), Victoria Rampado (10.6) and Val McQuade (also at 10.6). McGuinnes is a 5-10 guard. Rampado and McQuade are forwards at 6-2 and 6-foot, respectively. The matchup between the 6-2 Rampado and the 6-4 Shannon could be a good one.

As for tonight's men's game, this is a big one to get to 9-1 for the first time since Jim Christian's first season in Kent back in 2002-03. That team started 9-1, but then saw that record get changed to 10-0 later when St. Bonaventure was forced to forfeit six games for using an ineligible player.

I was at the game at Bucknell last season. The Bison are obviously missing Mike Muscala, who was a beast in last year's 76-60 Bison win, scoring 27 points on 12-of-17 shooting. The Flashes had no answer for him. Bryson Johnson (13 points) and Joe Williams (8 points, 10 rebounds) also had nice games for Bucknell, but they are both gone now, too.

In their place, 6-5 guard Cameron Ayers and 6-3 guard 6-8 forward Brian Fitzpatrick are now the Bison's most dangerous scorers at 15.0 and 11.1 points per game. Steve Kaspar is a pretty crafty 6-3 point guard who is averaging just under 10 per game.

Fitzpatrick and Kaspar were bit players last year when Kent State played at Bucknell. They didn't put up any numbers in a combined 15 minutes off of the bench in that meeting. Ayers scored nine points, grabbed five rebounds and shot 1-for-4 from the three-point arc.

This year's numbers dictate that Kent State should try to get to the rim. Bucknell has only three blocked shots in seven games so far. Led by the 6-10 Muscala last season, Bucknell blocked four shots in the game against Kent State alone. The Bison play almost exclusively man-to-man defense, and the Flashes should try to play inside-out first. This is also a game where Kent State can really try to crash the offensive boards.

Kris Brewer is a bit hobbled, but Senderoff said he expects the junior point guard to start tonight. Having a nice long break after this game will be good for him.

One of the things I remember the most about that trip to Bucknell was the arena. The Sojka Arena in Lewisburg, Pa. might be my favorite of all of the mid-major arenas I've been in over the years. It only seats around 4,000, but has is a fantastic atmosphere.

Live Blog: Kent State Men's Basketball vs. Kennesaw State

FIRST HALF

0:00 ... The second half was pretty much a walk for Kent State, outscoring Kennesaw State 41-26 for a 68-51 win.

Henniger led the way with 16 on 4-of-5 from field and 8-of-8 from he foul line. Also six rebounds.

Khaliq Spicer added six points and 13 rebounds as the Golden Flashes really dominated inside.

Kent State only won the points-in-the-paint line 22-18, but most of KentState's 31 free throws on 39 attempts came from attacking the basket.

Kennesaw converted 89-percent from the line, but only attempted 9 free throws.

I can't remember the last time the Flashes shot 30 more free throws than an opponent.

Jackson added 14 points and four rebounds, shooting 4-of-6 from the field and 5-of-5 from the line.

3:53 ... Kent State holds a 17-point lead at 62-45 despite 18 turnovers.

Mark Henniger drilled two more free throws a little before this timeout to extend his streak of makes from the free-throw line. He is 35-for-35 in this home stand.

7:38 ... The Kent State lead is 54-37. Darren Goodson heating up. After a scoreless first half, he has a pair of threes ... the last coming seconds ago on nice teamwork with Dev Manley ... first finding Manley in the corner, who showed the three, penetrated, then kicked back to Goodson for the jumper.

Mark Henniger has another double-digit effort with 12 points. Spicer already has nine rebounds to go with six points as the Flashes are getting good numbers again from the center spot.

11:47 ... Night and day between the first and second halves.

Kent State is starting to run away, up 45-31 and playing with significantly more poise and energy.

Khaliq Spicer working hard on the boards and on the defensive end.

Devin Carter has been aggressive in a matchup with Kennesaw State's Tanner Wozniak that is allowing him to get anywhere he wants on the floor.


15:48 ... The run is 10-2.

After 1 assist in the first half, the Flashes already have three assists on four second-half hoops.

Thomas has been a real spark on both ends with three assists, a steal and a traditional three-point play.

18:12 ... A quick timeout for Kennesaw State as the Flashes jump to a little 5-0 frun to start second half.

Kellon Thomas started for Brewer to open the second half. Brewer was walking gingerly during halftime as the training staff. The training staff took a look at his right leg.

SECOND HALF 

0:00 ... Flashes very lucky to take a 27-25 lead into the half. Very poor play so far and it took a fairly strong finish to get this slim advantage.

The big statistic that explains this half:  9 turnovers and just 1 assist.

And still the Flashes have a lead. That tells you what this score could be if KSU was bringing anything to this game.

Kent State missed an opportunity to take advantage of a pretty big mismatch late in the half with 6-foot-9 Khaliq Spicer guarded by 6-6 Kris Drees. Despite the size and athleticism advantage, Spicer got two shots and missed them both. He did dominate the last few minutes at the defensive end with two blocked shots and four rebounds. But little offense on the other end kept KSU from taking building a bigger lead late.

Jackson leads Kent State with 10 points on 3-for-3 shooting from field and 3-for-3 from the line. He also has matched Spicer's team-high 4 rebounds.


3:34 ... This is as poor a performance as we've seen from Kent State so far this season.

The Golden Flashes are getting out-worked by Kennesaw State, and that's why they are down 25-23.

The bench has provided little spark despite coaches yelling "effort" every time they send someone to the scorers table.

Kris Brewer just turned the ball over in the backcourt on sheer hustle by the Owls' Delbert Love.

7:26 ... Derek Jackson scored 10 of Kent State's first 16 ... Add in a steal-and-score with a free throw tacked on by Devin Carter and Kent State is up 19-17.

A sloppy game 7 turnovers by Kent State so far, and 6 by Kennesaw State.

Carter's steal came in full-court trap near half court. Flashes pressuring full court more than usual, trying to get something going as they look a little sluggish early.

10:37 ... Pretty sloppy start for the Flashes.

Already 5 turnovers, which is a high number for this team. Kent State has taken very good care of the basketball during the start of the season.

Derek Jackson has provided a spark, though, in his second shift on the floor... He hit a long three and now trying to convert an old-fashioned three for a 13-12 lead ... which he does coming out of the timeout.

15:40 ... Underway here at the M.A.C. Center. So far a somewhat slow start, but a 6-4 lead for the Golden Flashes.

Kent State has had some pretty good looks at the basket and already drawn four fouls on the Owls.

Flashes are going big early with Tabb in at power forward, first next to Henniger and now with Spicer in at the center.

PREGAME

12:23 p.m. ... Another Sunday afternoon game for Kent State today with Kennesaw State coming in for a KSU vs. KSU battle.

We are hoping to see you here, and if you are an adult planning to buy a ticket today at the M.A.C. Center ticket window, bring your son or daughter, or a niece or nephew ... because you get one free ticket for a child 12 and under with your paid ticket.

As always, today's game will be broadcast live on WHLO 640 AM. The Kent State women's basketball game will be on the Golden Flashes station on iHeartRadio, so the simulcast online will be on WHLO 640 AM's iHeart station. 

Ty Linder and I will be fielding questions and comments during today's broadcast and addressing them on the air. So, post those questions or comments below or on via Twitter to @CarducciKSU.

Kennesaw State comes in at 3-6 with victories over Warren Wilson, Tennessee Chattanooga and Truett-McConnell. Cincinnati almost hit 100 on them on Friday in a 95-67 win over the Owls. Youngstown State beat Kennesaw State 73-57 earlier in the year.

From what I'm told, the Owls run a pretty basic offense. They score by being active, so the Flashes will need to worry about boxing out on the defensive end yet again. The Owls will send three or four players to the glass on every shot. Kennesaw State also tries to play quick and athletic, so transition defense will also be important.

Orlando Coleman leads a pretty balanced group of scorers at 11.3 per game. I'm told that even though he is a 6-foot-5 forward, defensive stopper Derek Jackson may still get the assignment.

Kennesaw State has some size after 5-9 point guard Yonel Brown with Coleman, 6-7 Nigel Pruitt (9.2 ppt), 6-8 Bernard Morena (8.9 ppt) and 6-10 Willy Koussai. Delbert Love is a 6-foot guard who is extremely talented. He was the leading scorer at 12.5 per game last season, but he has been coming off of the bench in favor of a big lineup. And he's averaging 10.2 per game off of that bench through nine games.