SECOND HALF
FIRST HALF
FINAL ... Kent State 62, Malone 52
The Golden Flashes escaped a scare. Jimmy Hall took over in the second half, finishing with 18 points, 16 rebounds, 4 blocked shots and 3 assists.
Malone started to run out of gas a bit. Ben Haraway was outstanding in the first half. He finished with a team-high 16 points, but as a true freshman he started to wear down against the full-court pressure of Kent State. That's not an simple challenge for a veteran Division I guard. Malone fans have something special to watch over the next four years in Haraway.
Hall was the only player to finish in double figures for Kent State. Take his 6-of-8 out of the final box, and Kent State was 11-of-45 from the field. The Flashes shot 32 percent for the game, and just 24.4-percent without Hall.
Kent State won it from the foul line, going 25-for-39, including 21-of-28 in the second half.
3:32 ... Kent State has battled into the lead at 52-48 with a chance to add more as Kris Brewer will head to the foul line after the break.
Little things matter, and Gary Akbar with a close out under control, refusing to bite on a pump fake by Malone's Gus Simmers in front of the Pioneers bench forced an extra pass and a long attempt late in the shot clock. That was the reason for the stop that led to a fast break and now these Kris Brewer free throws.
Jimy Hall has taken control late. He has 17 points, 13 rebounds, four blocked shots and three assists in 28 minutes of work.
7:59 ... Malone picked up its 10th foul with almost nine minutes to go. With Kent State's length and athleticism advantage, the Flashes need to find a way to take advantage by attacking the paint.
The Flashes are just 2-for-17 from three-point range tonight.
Kent State will have the ball coming out of this timeout after catching a break when Kellon Thomas deflected the ball out of bounds. It did not appear to touch a Malone player, but the Flashes were awarded the basketball.
Jimmy Hall has 13 points and 12 rebounds to lead the Flashes.
11:51 ... The Flashes are playing better, getting good looks at the basket. But the field goal percentage is still below 30-percent.
Defense is improving, leading to transition opportunities. But Kent State has too many misses right on top of the basket.
Lead for Malone is 42-39 after two free throws by Kris Brewer.
The Flashes are shooting just 27 percent from the field for the game and 24 percent for the game.
15:46 ... Malone lead is 36-28, but Flashes starting to get some second-chance opportunities.
The Golden Flashes escaped a scare. Jimmy Hall took over in the second half, finishing with 18 points, 16 rebounds, 4 blocked shots and 3 assists.
Malone started to run out of gas a bit. Ben Haraway was outstanding in the first half. He finished with a team-high 16 points, but as a true freshman he started to wear down against the full-court pressure of Kent State. That's not an simple challenge for a veteran Division I guard. Malone fans have something special to watch over the next four years in Haraway.
Hall was the only player to finish in double figures for Kent State. Take his 6-of-8 out of the final box, and Kent State was 11-of-45 from the field. The Flashes shot 32 percent for the game, and just 24.4-percent without Hall.
Kent State won it from the foul line, going 25-for-39, including 21-of-28 in the second half.
3:32 ... Kent State has battled into the lead at 52-48 with a chance to add more as Kris Brewer will head to the foul line after the break.
Little things matter, and Gary Akbar with a close out under control, refusing to bite on a pump fake by Malone's Gus Simmers in front of the Pioneers bench forced an extra pass and a long attempt late in the shot clock. That was the reason for the stop that led to a fast break and now these Kris Brewer free throws.
Jimy Hall has taken control late. He has 17 points, 13 rebounds, four blocked shots and three assists in 28 minutes of work.
7:59 ... Malone picked up its 10th foul with almost nine minutes to go. With Kent State's length and athleticism advantage, the Flashes need to find a way to take advantage by attacking the paint.
The Flashes are just 2-for-17 from three-point range tonight.
Kent State will have the ball coming out of this timeout after catching a break when Kellon Thomas deflected the ball out of bounds. It did not appear to touch a Malone player, but the Flashes were awarded the basketball.
Jimmy Hall has 13 points and 12 rebounds to lead the Flashes.
11:51 ... The Flashes are playing better, getting good looks at the basket. But the field goal percentage is still below 30-percent.
Defense is improving, leading to transition opportunities. But Kent State has too many misses right on top of the basket.
Lead for Malone is 42-39 after two free throws by Kris Brewer.
The Flashes are shooting just 27 percent from the field for the game and 24 percent for the game.
15:46 ... Malone lead is 36-28, but Flashes starting to get some second-chance opportunities.
Hall heading to the line now after one of those chances.
Flashes intensity starting to heat up. Best inside player for Malone, Brian Stone, just picked up his fourth foul. Pioneers look like they are starting to tire.
FIRST HALF
0:00 ... Maybe a little momentum going into the half as Dev Manley hits a long 3-pointer just before the buzzer.Manley was 4-of-6 from three in the win over Youngstown State. Just 1-for-5 now in this one, but hopefully that last jumper will get him going. The Flashes are also just 2-of-13 as a team from the arc.
Ben Haraway for Malone has been the best player on the floor. The freshman guard has 10 points on 4-of-7 shooting and is 2-of-3 from three-point range in 19 minutes.
A layup by Jimmy Hall with ended a field-goal drought of more than 10 minutes.
3:59 ... As ugly a start as we've seen at Kent State in a long time.
The Golden Flashes trail Malone 26-15.
The field-goal drought for the Flashes is 8:38.
Malone, meanwhile, is patient on offense, not just settling for the three, attacking the basket, finding open teammates .... Basically they are doing everything Senderoff wants his team to do.
Malone has turned the ball over nine times and committed 10 fouls to Kent State's 2 ... and still the Pioneers are leading, shooting 57.9 percent to Kent State's 27.3.
7:59 ... The Flashes offense is struggling. Just two points since a Kris Brewer elbow jumper with almost 15:30 to go.
Malone has built a 19-14 lead.
11:51 ... The Flashes and Pioneers are tied, 14-14 at the second media timeout.
Despite forcing three turnovers during the three-plus minutes since the last media timeout, Kent State has watched its lead evaporate. The only basket for the Flashes was a potential three-point play with Chris Ortiz missing the free throw.
Freshman Ben Hardaway has played well so far for Malone, hitting a pair of long jumpers, including a three over Ortiz to tie the game.14:54 ... A 7-0 run has helped the Flashes to a 12-9 lead at the first media timeout.
Derek Jackson off to another good start, going 2-for-2 including a three off of a Spicer screen at the top.
Flashes showing pressure, which Malone has handled well for the most part. The pioneers have hit some perimeter jumpers early, including a three by Brandon Bapst.
7:32 p.m. ... Kent State vs. Malone pre game show is on now on WHLO 640 AM and iHeartRadio.
Dave Wilson and I will be calling the game on the radio and we'll be fielding questions and comments via Twitter and discussing them on the air.
Send your questions to me at @CarducciKSU
7 p.m. ... We are about an hour from tip-off. The Kent State women's game with Youngstown State is in the second half and the Golden Flashes are trying to battle back from a 49-36 deficit.
The Golden Flashes' men's game will feature a Malone University team that can shoot it from distance. The Pioneers may be a Division II squad, but there's always a little bit of fear against a team that shoots it well from three-point range. Last year's team averaged 22 shots from three-point range and finished in the top 50 in the nation in Division II in three-point percentage.
Led by guards Ben Hardaway and Stephen O'Daniel, this year's Malone team is also capable of getting hot from deep. Hardaway is a lead guard who likes to get into the lane and create for teammates or hit floaters, but he is also a capable shooter from the arc, shooting 37-percent in his freshman year.
Fellow freshman Mitch Spottleson is an undersized forward at 6-foot-4, but he's shooting 60-percent from three as a starter in his first season.
Stephen O'Daniel III is one of two juniors on a young starting lineup. He cal play the two and the three, and is hitting the three at a 33-percent clip as primarily a catch-and-shoot perimeter player.
The Pioneers don't have a great deal of size with their starting center, Neil Gingerich averaging just 2.0 points in his 18 minutes per night. They bring 6-8 junior Brian Stone off the bench, and he has been productive, averaging 8.5 points in 13.5 minutes.
Malone is on the small side. It can also give up points by the bunches in transition, so look for the Flashes to try to get out and run. From talking to Rob Senderoff earlier this week, a focus tonight will be on getting a body on opponents and controlling the defensive boards ... an issue primarily in the first half of Saturday's win at Youngstown State.
The Flashes are a significant favorite in this one. It'll be important for Kent State not to look at this game in that way, though, and to avoid getting lazy on the defensive end. This is not a time to form bad habits on the defensive end and get into foul trouble the way they did against the Penguins.
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