Live Blog: Kent State Men's Basketball vs. Northern Illinois

SECOND HALF

FINAL ... Northern Illinois 50, Kent State 49

No poise for Kent State in the second half

First win for the Huskies here since February of 2003.

Flashes were 7-for-21 from the field in the second half ... 11 turnovers against just four assists.


0:05.2 ... Huskies up 50-49 after two free throws by Baker ... Flashes had taken a lead with 11 seconds to go on two Manley free throws.

1:09 ... Huskies have the ball after this timeout ... A Henniger slipped screen for a wide open layup has Kent State ahead 47-46.

3:52 ... A very ugly second half. Both teams playing poorly, but Huskies have a hustle advantage.

Kent State's offensive playmaking has been blind at times ... players attacking with no real purpose or plan to what they are doing.

Lots of poor shots, turnovers and near turnovers.

Huskies haven't been much better.

7:33 ... Kent State has simply been too careless with the basketball in this half. A total of 8 turnovers so far, and nearly many more.

Flashes clinging to a 43-40 lead, and really ahead in large part because of the play of the bench ... Ortiz, Henniger and Simmons combined for 18 points and 10 of the team's 23 rebounds.

Huskies on a 10-0 run.


11:49 ... A K.K. Simmons three has the Flashes up 43-30 at the second media timeout.

Flashes bench now outscoring the Huskies' 18-2.

Huskies just 4-for-17 from the field in this half.


15:24 ... The Flashes coming out hot to start the second half, leading 38-26 behind threes from Kellon Thomas and Darren Goodson. 

Thomas ended an 0-for-5 start with an early three, then hustled to save a possession after Brewer lost the handle, reclaiming the ball with a dive into the lane and setting up Goodson for his three.

Northern forced to call timeout. Huskies are 2-for-9 from the field with two turnovers in first 4:36.

FIRST HALF

HALF ... Derek Jackson's three at the first-half buzzer has Kent State ahead 28-21 at the break. Darren Goodson set it up perfectly with a pass to the corner against a double team.

Marquiez Lawrence made that last shot possible, entering the game just to pressure in the back court and forcing a 10-second violation.  The turnover was Northern Illinois' 13th of the half as Kent State outscored the Huskies 13-4 off of turnovers.

The Flashes bench was also outstanding, outscoring the Huskies 15-2. Ortiz, Henniger and Simmons all making an impact when they checked in.

Jackson leads the Flashes with 7 points and 3 steals.

Henniger has 6 points and 4 rebounds in 12 minutes off the bench. Ortiz also with 6 off the bench.

Bolin leads the Huskies with 7, but all of his points came in the game's first nine minutes.

The Flashes honored their 3.0 student-athletes at halftime. Photo is at the left. Well done!


1:23 ... Kent State lead is 25-19. Flashes still taking some poor shots offensively, including some early 3's (2-for-10 from the arc), but defense has been excellent.


3:59 ... Despite a nearly six-minute drought, Kent State leads 23-17. K.K. Simmons has played a big part in the Flashes holding on to this advantage with some hustle plays off of the bench.

Simmons also hit the three that ended the drought.

Flashes have forced 12 Northern turnovers ... lead 10-2 in points off of turnover. Also 13-2 off of the bench.


7:37 ... Northern Illinois has switched to a 2-3 zone and the Flashes are having some trouble with it.

Kent State is settling for threes and shooting just 1-for-7 from long distance.

Chris Ortiz has been excellent off the bench. In his one four-minute shift he was 3-for-3 from the field for six points with a rebound. Working hard on both ends.

Derek Jackson has three steals as the Flashes have forced 11 turnovers. Not getting much out of all the defense, however.



11:16 ... Other than two Aksel Bolin threes since the last media timeout, the Flashes defense has been excellent all night.

A whole lot of talk as they ice and plug defensively gainst Northern Illinois' screens.

Now eight turnovers by the Huskies.

The Kent State lead is just 14-11, though, as the Flashes have settled a bit for long-range jumped. KSU is 5-for-13 overall and 1-for-5 from three. Darren Goodson the only connection from long range.


15:45 ... Kent State with an 8-3 lead at the first media timeout.

The Flashes are shooting a modest 2-for-6 from the field and 1-for-3 from three-point range, but offensively they have been patient and the spacing has been good. Only one of the threes was somewhat questionable shot selection.

Defense has played a big part in this lead with two Derek Jackson strips leading to free throws at the other end.

Kellon Thomas also has a steal. The Flashes have forced six turnovers already.

PREGAME

6:19 p.m. ... Northern Illinois is in town to try to avenge its overtime loss to Kent State back on Jan. 15 in DeKalb.

Kris Brewer was the hero in that one, recovering from a slow start to take over the game late in the second half and in the extra session. The Golden Flashes will need Brewer at his best from the start tonight and really for the rest of the season. He is the go-to player offensively for Kent State. We saw in Sunday’s loss at Toledo that the insertion of Kellon Thomas in the starting lineup has made it easier for Brewer to at least share some of the point-guard duties, freeing him to look a bit more for opportunities to score.

The Flashes got into some trouble early against DeKalb by settling for long-range jumpers early in the shot clock. They learned at Toledo, however, that patience and running their sets can lead to better looks at the basket. They also attacked the Rockets’ defense for 40 points in the paint. There will be opportunities to score inside against a Northern Illinois interior that isn’t particularly big or athletic at the post positions. 

Northern’s defensive strength is pressuring the basketball in man-to-man, so the Flashes need to space the floor well and create opportunities to make plays the way they did late in the last meeting. Being able to watch the first half at DeKalb and compare it to the second half in DeKalb and having those memories fresh in the minds should be a benefit for KSU.

Brewer scored 25 in that win over the Huskies and Derek Jackson added 14. That duo is also building off of good individual efforts at Toledo, so look for them to build on those outings.

Aaron Armstead was a beast off of the bench for Northern in the last meeting, going for 15 points and 10 rebounds. He is likely to start tonight. Armstead is 6-foot-5 and athletic. Jackson will likely get the assignment on him. 

The Flashes did a nice job on Travon Baker earlier this year. The point guard connected on just 3-of-11 from the field and had a 2-to-3 assist-to-turnover ratio. Brewer’s length defensively on Baker could be a benefit. With Baker on the floor, though, it will take a team effort to get back defensively. The Huskies like to push the basketball in transition and Baker and Daveon Balls are the keys to that. They love to push the ball. 

Sophomore Darrell Bowie is Northern’s top scorer at 9.7 per game. He is shooting 36 percent from the field and just 16 percent from the three-point arc. He is also a 54-percent free-throw shooter. The lefty loves to attack the rim, and he is a good rebounder at 6-6 averaging almost seven per game. He scored eight points and grabbed eight boards earlier this month against KSU.