Live Blog: Men's Basketball vs. Miami

SECOND HALF

FINAL: Kent State 61, Miami 60

Very few timeouts down the stretch and a wild finish ... For running updates, check out @CarducciKSU on Twitter.

The Flashes were down 8 late, but found a way to battle back and get the win.

I'll be back in a bit with more.

3:03 ... Officials have swallowed their whistles in the last 8 minutes. After early foul trouble for Miami, the RedHawks only just committed their 7th foul with about 4 minutes to play.

Kent State is down 58-54, but Miami will have the ball back after a quick Kent State turnover following a stop on the defensive end.

Marquiez Lawrence has kept the Flashes in this one with his work on the boards ... 10 in total, including 6 on the offensive end.

6:28 ... Losing Brewer tonight is taking its toll.

Playing almost the entire way, Manley and Jackson appear to have run out of gas in the second half. They are a combined 0-for-7 after the break after both scored 11 points in the first half.

Manley just missed a 3-pointer that looked good all the way with 6:45 to play that would have cut into Miami's 54-48 lead.

8:45 ... A dunk by Miami's L.J. Livingston has the RedHawks up 52-48. The Flashes lost track of Livingston under the basket, leaving him all alone.

Turnovers are starting to pile up for the Flashes. Kent State has called timeout to get its best five on the floor.

Jackson and Manley have gone cold, combining for just 2 points in first 11:15 of first half.

10:02 ...  Some head-shaking calls against both teams tonight.

Miami will keep the ball after another call that didn't make much sense. But the officials also missed a pretty clear call early in the possession that would have sent Miami to the foul line.

Kent State leads 48-47.

Marquiez Lawrence is playing well with 6 points and 6 rebounds, and 4 of those boards are on the offensive end.

14:47 ... Kent State and Miami remain tied at the first media timeout, but Devareaux Manley will be heading to the line when play resumes. 

The Flashes are just 1-for-5 from the field so far from the field in the second half. 

The good news is Miami is starting to get into some foul trouble. The foul on the Manley drive late in the shot clock was No. 5 on the RedHawks, who committed only four fouls in the entire first half.

Khaliq Spicer has been much more active in this half. Good to see after just 2 points and 1 rebound in  14 first-half minutes.

FIRST HALF

The Flashes have been shorthanded, but they continue to play hard.

Perimeter shooting from Devareaux Manley and Derek Jackson have the Flashes in this. They are a combined 6-for-11 from three-point range. Miami is just 1-for-4. The Flashes have had a hard time dealing with Eric Washington and Geovonie McKnight.

Washington is just 1-for-5 from the field, but he is 7-of-8 from the line and getting into the middle of the Flashes defense on his way to 5 assists.

McKnight has 12 points on 6-of-9 shooting. He came into the night averaging only 10 per game.

Chris Ortiz had a very good first half with 10 points on 5-of-6 shooting. He has been aggressive and  doing most of his damage around the rim.

Rebounding is an issue as the RedHawks have a 17-11 rebounding advantage. The good news is Miami's 9 offensive rebounds have led to just 4 second-chance points.


1:47 ... It took a while to get to the under-four-minute timeout as Rob Senderoff was forced to burn a timeout to get Derek Jackson back on the floor with a little more than three minutes to play. He tried to sneak a break for Jackson by subbing in walk-on Jon Flemming with 4:04 to play, but the Flashes couldn't get a stop after giving up the lead.

Geovonie McNight and Eric Washington have been tough on the Flashes so far. McKnight is 6-for-9 from the field for 12 points and is already 2 above his scoring average. Washington has 7 points (5-of-6 at the line) and 5 assists.

Kent State and Miami are tied at 35-35 after a Devareaux Manley three. His is 3-for-5 from the arc while Jackson is 3-for-4.

Ortiz has 10 points, the last two coming on a slam as the Flashes broke full-court pressure.

7:47 ... Chris Ortiz is off to a nice start offensively with 6 points. It's great to see him bounce back strong after a tough final few minutes at Western Michigan. Ortiz has been aggressive and is doing most of his work from 10 feet and in. His pretty turnaround from the right baseline has Kent State up 24-20 at this timeout.

Craig Brown committed a hard foul on a Miami bustout that official Donnie Eppley said "was very, very close" to a flagrant foul. But Brown, while it was indeed a hard foul, got a hand on the basketball and was clearly going for the ball.

11:24 ... Derek Jackson is on fire (4-for-4 overall and 3-for-3 from 3-point range), and Kent State's defense has been excellent.

Four Miami turnovers and the Jackson show have the Flashes up 20-12 with the ball back coming out of this media timeout.

We had a front court lineup we've never seen over the last few minutes with freshman Raasean Davis at center, Craig Brown at the three and Gary Akbar at the four. They played very well on the defensive end but combined for 0-for-3 on the offensive end.

15:15 ... A sizzling start from the perimeter has helped Kent State to an early 13-8 lead.

Derek Jackson hit two quick threes and Devareaux Manley added another as the Flashes connected from long range on three straight possessions.

An early foul against Jackson on a pump fake by Eric Washington drew some frustration from Senderoff, who insisted "he didn't touch him."

The Flashes can't afford to get Jackson or Manley in foul trouble with Brewer out.

PREGAME

6:15 p.m. ... The already shorthanded Golden Flashes will play without another key player tonight when Miami visits the M.A.C. Center.

Despite missing player of the year candidate Jimmy Hall to mononucleosis, the Flashes showed they can still battle with the league’s best when Western Michigan needed a basket with eight seconds to pull a home win out of the fire against Kent State on Wednesday.

Rob Senderoff’s team needs to prove it can get back on the winning track after adding Kris Brewer to the missing. Brewer will not be active tonight due to a violation of team rules.

No Hall already means everyone else needs to step up – the frontcourt adding minutes and responsibilities to make up for his defense, rebounding and 30 minutes per night, and the backcourt taking on more scoring responsibility.

Now, without Brewer, the Flashes will ask Derek Jackson and Devareaux Manley to keep putting more points on the scoreboard while playing as many as 40 minutes each. With Kellon Thomas sidelined and now Brewer out, Jackson and Manley are the only available guards on scholarship.

Jackson will have to expend energy on the defensive end against Eric Washington. We’ve seen this before as Jackson gets the toughest assignment guarding Washington, who is one of the faster point guards the Flashes will face this year and Miami’s top scorer at 13.7 per game. The 5-foot-10 transfer from Presbyterian is dangerous in transition. In the half court he likes to attack and has a quick first step.

Manley’s job isn’t easy, either, as he will guard senior Will Sullivan, who is one of the league’s best three-point shooters at 47.2 percent. Sullivan likes to run the wing in transition with the idea of shooting threes. He’ll also look for the shot as a trailer on the break and on catch-and-shoot in the half court coming off of screens.

Geovonie McKnight is a 6-3 junior who adds more quickness at the two spot. At 17 percent from three-point range, he’s not as much of a perimeter threat… But then, the Kent State has watched a few unexpected players get hot this season when the opponent’s “better” players have found limited success.

Miami is already a pressure team defensively, but look for the RedHawks to amp up that pressure when they find out that Brewer is out. The reality is that there is no true point guard available tonight for the Flashes. Jackson has handled the point well since Kellon Thomas was lost to injury. His assist-to-turnover ratio ranks 13th in the nation. But he came to Kent to play the two.

The Flashes could turn to 5-foot-9 walk-on Jon Flemming to extend a break for Jackson just before media timeouts, and Manley could be spelled by Gary Akbar or Criag Brown playing out of position at the two. While both are listed as G/F, they get most of their minutes at the two.

This one will be interesting. With one player fallen ill, another injured, another unavailable after breaking a team rule, and three players sitting with redshirts, this team will have very little depth. Miami plays four guards much of the time, and Kent State only has two scholarship guards available. The Flashes have to find a way. Miami is better than its 8-14, 3-6 record. And while they have struggled on the road, the RedHawks are going to find what they have to assume will be an easier assignment tonight. At 1.6 per game, Craig Brown is the leading available scorer off the bench for KSU.

Eight scholarship players are available for Kent State.