SECOND HALF
FIRST HALF
PREGAME
FINAL ... Kent State 78, Buffalo 69
KSU briefly cut the lead to 5 points on threes by Brewer and Manley separated by just seven seconds thanks to a turnover in full-court pressure. But a three-point play by McCrea on the other end ... after officials missed a three-second call that was more like eight seconds on Regan ... helped to secure the win.
McCrea led the way with 31 points and 11 rebounds. He was 13-for-16 from the foul line while Kent State as a team was just 8-for-17.
Kellon Thomas played well again for the Flashes, scoring 13 points on 6-of-9 shooting. He also had four assists and no turnovers in 30 minutes.
Kris Brewer led four Flashes in double figures with 16 points. Manley added 11 and Jackson scored 10.
3:55 ... Kent State's coaches are furious with the officials, who missed two clear turnovers by Buffalo ... out of bounds on a trap in front of the Bulls bench and no call, and then an obvious travel.
Some of the calls against Buffalo have been head-scratchers as well, though. Both teams have reason to be frustrated with Jim Schipper, Bryan Anslinger or Dave Cronin today.
4:54 ... A Will Regan three may be an early dagger after KSU found some life with an old-fashioned three-point play that drew foul No. 4 on McCrea. Now a 67-56 Buffalo lead.
7:48 ... Buffalo lead is 61-51 as Kent State's offense continues to struggle. Just four points since the Manley three put Kent State up 47-45 with 13:33 to play.
11:39 ... A Dev Manley three from the right corner gave Kent State a brief 47-46 lead, but Buffalo has answered with a 7-0 run to take a 53-47 advantage.
McCrea picked up his third foul on a Goodson drive just 10 seconds after the charge call. But instead of attacking McCrea and trying to pick up No. 4, the Flashes have settled for all perimeter jumpers. Senderoff spending much of this time-out talking to the Flashes about attacking McCrea ... who has now checked out. With Senderoff calling this timeout, the under-12 media timeout is still to come at the next break, so McCrea is likely to check right back in after a short rest.
14:50 ... Kellon Thomas stood his ground to draw a charge on McCrea and stop a fast break just before this timeout.
KSU briefly cut the lead to 5 points on threes by Brewer and Manley separated by just seven seconds thanks to a turnover in full-court pressure. But a three-point play by McCrea on the other end ... after officials missed a three-second call that was more like eight seconds on Regan ... helped to secure the win.
McCrea led the way with 31 points and 11 rebounds. He was 13-for-16 from the foul line while Kent State as a team was just 8-for-17.
Kellon Thomas played well again for the Flashes, scoring 13 points on 6-of-9 shooting. He also had four assists and no turnovers in 30 minutes.
Kris Brewer led four Flashes in double figures with 16 points. Manley added 11 and Jackson scored 10.
3:55 ... Kent State's coaches are furious with the officials, who missed two clear turnovers by Buffalo ... out of bounds on a trap in front of the Bulls bench and no call, and then an obvious travel.
Some of the calls against Buffalo have been head-scratchers as well, though. Both teams have reason to be frustrated with Jim Schipper, Bryan Anslinger or Dave Cronin today.
4:54 ... A Will Regan three may be an early dagger after KSU found some life with an old-fashioned three-point play that drew foul No. 4 on McCrea. Now a 67-56 Buffalo lead.
7:48 ... Buffalo lead is 61-51 as Kent State's offense continues to struggle. Just four points since the Manley three put Kent State up 47-45 with 13:33 to play.
11:39 ... A Dev Manley three from the right corner gave Kent State a brief 47-46 lead, but Buffalo has answered with a 7-0 run to take a 53-47 advantage.
McCrea picked up his third foul on a Goodson drive just 10 seconds after the charge call. But instead of attacking McCrea and trying to pick up No. 4, the Flashes have settled for all perimeter jumpers. Senderoff spending much of this time-out talking to the Flashes about attacking McCrea ... who has now checked out. With Senderoff calling this timeout, the under-12 media timeout is still to come at the next break, so McCrea is likely to check right back in after a short rest.
14:50 ... Kellon Thomas stood his ground to draw a charge on McCrea and stop a fast break just before this timeout.
The Flashes looked a little sluggish coming out of the half. But a Kris Brewer three to answer a Joshua Freelove three has cut the Bulls lead to 43-40. That combined with the Kellon Thomas play on defense seems to have reenergized the Flashes.
FIRST HALF
HALF ... Buffalo leads Kent State, 33-32
Some shaky officiating has put Kent State in a bind. A very week call saddled Mark Henniger with his third foul late in the first half. Khaliq Spicer already had two. That forced KSU to go with true freshman Marquiez Lawrence against probably the best player in the league, and McCrea took advantage.
McCrea has 16 points and six rebounds, and all after an 0-for-5 start that saw him do very little in the game's first 10 minutes. He is good enough. When officials give him every call, they make him pretty hard to stop.
Jackson has seven points on 3-for-4 shooting to lead Kent State.
Flashes led 29-27 in Buffalo earlier this year, but an awful first seven minutes allowed Buffalo to take complete control of that one. Let's see how KSU comes out in this second half.
3:27 ... Buffalo has battled back to tie the game at 24-24 as McCrea has been getting deep touches inside against the KSU bigs. He has made his last three shots and is also 3-for-3 from the line. Nine points after going 0-for-5 to start.
7:43 ... Kent State offense has started to stagnate a bit in the last few minutes, and that has allowed Buffallo to cut the lead to 19-12.
McCrea missed his first six shots before finally getting on the board with a layup during this mini spurt.
This is the first game where we've seen the Flashes make an effort to try to work the ball in to Khaliq Spicer in the post.
11:18 ... Flashes lead is 14-5 as defense has been the key to this fast start.
Buffalo is just 2-for-12 from the field as Kent State's rotation and hustle on the defensive end has been as good as we've seen all season long.
McCrea is 0-for-3 from the field with a turnover and one assist to start this one.
Flashes are 6-for-13 overall, but have missed last four shots from three. Early shots from beyond arc came on good inside-out action or extra pass. Since then, most of the threes have been flat-footed or early in the shot clock.
15:52 ... A good start for Kent State, leading 8-2 with Derek Jackson heading to the foul line to try to convert a three-point play coming out of this timeout.
Some shaky officiating has put Kent State in a bind. A very week call saddled Mark Henniger with his third foul late in the first half. Khaliq Spicer already had two. That forced KSU to go with true freshman Marquiez Lawrence against probably the best player in the league, and McCrea took advantage.
McCrea has 16 points and six rebounds, and all after an 0-for-5 start that saw him do very little in the game's first 10 minutes. He is good enough. When officials give him every call, they make him pretty hard to stop.
Jackson has seven points on 3-for-4 shooting to lead Kent State.
Flashes led 29-27 in Buffalo earlier this year, but an awful first seven minutes allowed Buffalo to take complete control of that one. Let's see how KSU comes out in this second half.
3:27 ... Buffalo has battled back to tie the game at 24-24 as McCrea has been getting deep touches inside against the KSU bigs. He has made his last three shots and is also 3-for-3 from the line. Nine points after going 0-for-5 to start.
7:43 ... Kent State offense has started to stagnate a bit in the last few minutes, and that has allowed Buffallo to cut the lead to 19-12.
McCrea missed his first six shots before finally getting on the board with a layup during this mini spurt.
This is the first game where we've seen the Flashes make an effort to try to work the ball in to Khaliq Spicer in the post.
11:18 ... Flashes lead is 14-5 as defense has been the key to this fast start.
Buffalo is just 2-for-12 from the field as Kent State's rotation and hustle on the defensive end has been as good as we've seen all season long.
McCrea is 0-for-3 from the field with a turnover and one assist to start this one.
Flashes are 6-for-13 overall, but have missed last four shots from three. Early shots from beyond arc came on good inside-out action or extra pass. Since then, most of the threes have been flat-footed or early in the shot clock.
15:52 ... A good start for Kent State, leading 8-2 with Derek Jackson heading to the foul line to try to convert a three-point play coming out of this timeout.
The Flashes jumped out 6-0 on back-to-back threes by Kellon Thomas and Darren Goodson to open the game. Good job of penetrating and kicking by Derek Jackson to set up the Thomas three, and then the extra pass by Thomas on the Goodson three.
Good job on McCrea early as Spicer's length has had an impact.
Buffalo just 1-of-6 from the field to start.
PREGAME
11:20 a.m. … A big game for Kent State today in the hopes of continuing to build momentum heading into March.
Buffalo and Kent State are the two hottest teams in the Mid-American Conference East Division in the month of February, both at 4-2 while Akron and Ohio University have struggled a bit with their 3-3 marks this month.
For the Flashes to win their fourth in a row, containing Javon McCrea is obviously a huge key. McCrea was more of a distributor for the Bulls in this year’s previous meeting in Amherst, N.Y., and while he didn’t dominate as he has in previous meetings, he still had an impact while stepping aside for teammate Will Regan to lead the way with in a 25-point, 10-rebound performance. McCrea finished with 12 points and seven rebounds in 36 minutes.
As Regan proved in that game, the Bulls are more than just the Javon McCrea show. KSU also needs to worry about players like transfer two-guard Joshua Freelove, who is coming off of a 21-point night in a 96-90 win over Akron on Wednesday. Three Bulls scored 20 or more in that one, including a 20-point, 13-rebound game by McCrea and 20 by guard Jarod Oldham, who was 8-of-9 from the field in scoring his 20.
Oldham is usually a pass-first point guard, but at 6-foot-3 he has length to take away the advantage Kris Brewer often finds against opposing MAC point guards. Kellon Thomas will likely open up with the assignment on Oldham, who is No. 2 in the MAC in assists at 5.3 per game and has a 2-to-1 assist-to-turnover ratio. Oldham is pretty much a drive-first scorer. He has only made 11 jumpers all season long.
Derek Jackson draws Freelove, a fifth-year transfer who along with Regan is the team’s most dangerous perimeter threat. Freelove has already attempted 126 threes this year, and half of Regan’s shots from the four spot have come from beyond the arc.
KSU has managed to get hot from long distance during this winning streak, but the Flashes can’t just rely on the three in today’s game. The play has to go inside first to either set up the three or finish strong at the basket. The Flashes played well in the first half at Buffalo in taking a lead after 20 minutes, then started to settle a bit in the second half. Hopefully they’ll be patient enough to turn the offense over and not just hoist up the first shot.
Defensively, the Flashes will need to stop the ball early in transition, locate shooters and have the bigs beat McCrea down the floor and keep him from getting deep touches early in the possession. Khaliq Spicer, Chris Ortiz, Mark Henniger and KSU’s bigs can’t just sit behind McCrea and let him get simple touches. They have to make him work hard, and then get help as soon as McCrea puts the ball on the floor.
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