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

SECOND HALF

FINAL ... Western Michigan 75, Kent State 59

A brutal shooting night.

The Flashes shot 21-of-65 from the field and 7-of-29 from three-point range. KSU had to get hot at the end just to shoot 32-percent from the field for the game.

Goodson and Brewer both scored 10 points to lead the Golden Flashes.

Whittington led all scorers with 18 for Western while Brown scored 17, Haymond and Richie 11.


4:12 ... Kellon Thomas with a three from the corner cuts lead to 69-55.

Thomas is 3-for-3 from field and 2-for-2 from three. He has been a bright spot.

7:07 ... Flashes down 61-45 and have had a few chances to cut deeper but have missed several transition threes.

Brown leads all scorers with 16 while Whittington and Haymond both have 13 for Western.

Goodson has 10 for KSU.

Flashes shooting 26 percent in the game and 25 percent from floor this half.


11:56 ... Western lead is 56-33 and Kent State is trying to find a way to build on some positives. The Flashes are actually hustling, diving for loose balls, work hard in full-court pressure ... but with few results.

Kent State is 3-for-12 in the second half.

Coaches try to cut the remaining time into short games ... win the next four minutes, then the next four minutes after that ... etc.

Starting guards are 4-for-24.


16:13 ... A very poor start to the second half sees Kent State down 46-27 and in deep trouble.

Flashes are not settling for threes. They are getting right on top of the rim and just can't convert a layup. 

Shooting 1-for-8 in the first four minutes.

FIRST HALF

HALF ... Kent State trails Western Michigan 34-24

Kent State is lucky to be down by just 10 after shooting 9-for-34 from the field (26.5 pct) and 2-for-13 from three (15.4 pct).

Kent State's starting guards, Kris Brewer, Dev Manley and Derek Jackson, are a combined 3-for-16.

And all of this with 6-11 center Shayne Whittington playing just eight minutes in the first half due to early foul trouble.

Disappointing, but need to turn it around here with a fast start to the second half.

Goodson leads Kent State with 8 points and 4 rebounds. Khaliq Spicer has six rebounds (5 of them offensive) and a blocked shot in 10 minutes.

Marquiez Lawrence has three points off of the bench.



3:43 ... Kent State cut the Western lead to four on a couple of occasions, including one with the ball ... but some empty possessions and threes by McCormick and Brown have helped Western to a 29-20 lead.


7:56 ... After a 3-for-20 shooting start (1-for-9 from three), the Flashes are finally starting to try to take advantage of what should be a size and athleticism advantage and are attacking the rim.

A Goodson layup has cut the lead to 19-13. Flashes fortunate to be this close while getting out-rebounded 16-11 and out shot 43.8-percent to 19-percent.

11:40 ... Losing Whittington has actually been a plus for the Broncos.

Western Michigan's bench has been up to the challenge of making up for the early foul trouble to arguably the best center in the MAC. The Broncos reserves have outscored KSU's 6-0 in the last four minutes, helping Western to a 10-6 lead.

Kent State is 2-for-12 from the field and 1-for-7 from three-point range.

Offense is settling again for early shots from three and failing to take advantage of a size and athleticism advantage with Whittington on the bench.


15:27 ... Darren Goodson wins his second battle with Western Michigan center Shayne Whittington. Two drives by the 6-11 senior and twice Goodson has drawn a charge.

Whittington will have to sit down.

A three by Manley on the last possession has the Flashes up 5-4.

PREGAME

6:56 ... Good to see Gene Steratore on the game. He is one of the best, as is Larry Scirotto, who is also on this officiating crew.

Steratore is in Kent just a few days after working as the referee at the NFC Championship Game in Seattle where the Seahawks beat the 49ers.

The third official is Doran Gotschall, who regularly works the WAC and Mountain West.



4:50 p.m. ... Tonight's tip is a little more than two hours away. As always, the game will be broadcast on WHLO 640 AM, and tonight's internet simulcast is on iHeartRadio at http://www.iheart.com/live/Golden-Flashes-Radio-6068/

I had posted the wrong link last week when there was some confusion due to the Kent State women's basketball team playing at the same time. When that happens, the women's game will be simulcast on the Golden Flashes iHeartRadio station while the men's game is on the WHLO 640 iHeartRadio station.

There's a lot of Jekyll and Hyde play going on in the Mid-American Conference this season. We've seen it here at Kent State. Western Michigan seems to be going through some of the same issues, averaging better than 81 points per game in their nine wins and struggling to score 58 in their seven losses.

Forcing turnovers is a big key tonight. The Broncos are averaging 18 turnovers per game in MAC play and have turned it over 51 times in their two losses. The Flashes need to turn those turnovers into some easy points ... similar to the first half on Saturday at Buffalo.

The obvious matchup to watch is Derek Jackson vs. Western Michigan senior guard David Brown. The Flashes shutdown defender will try to slow down the MAC's leading scorer, who is averaging 18.9 per game. Brown takes 1/3 of the Broncos' shots. He is extremely dangerous in transition and loves to drive hard to the rim while trying to draw contact. While he is only shooting the three at about 25 percent on the season, he is closer to 40 percent since the MAC season started.

At center, Shayne Whittington is a concern. The 6-foot-11 senior is averaging 15.1 points in just 28 minutes per night. He scored 21 and had 13 rebounds against Kent State last season. He is strong and athletic. Can Kent State's bigs push him off the block and keep him from getting deep touches?

At the four, 6-foot-5 sophomore Connar Tava is coming on in MAC play, upping his 11.9 season scoring average to closer to 15 per game. He is also a dangerous offensive rebounder, so the Flashes have to keep him off of the boards.