SECOND HALF
FIRST HALF
FINAL ... Miami 71, Kent State 64
Kent State season ends in a first-round loss in Oxford.
It was a frustrating season, but there is help on the way. Kent State will add a post presence in Jimmy Hall next season, and Hall has three seasons remaining and a year of work in this system under his belt. There are also some other nice pieces coming in.
I'm already looking forward to next year.
Brewer finished with 15 points. He and Manley both had open looks from the arc in transition with chances to eclipse two-point leads late.
Willie Moore led Miami with 17 points and six rebounds. Four RedHawks with four in double figures.
0:32.6 ... Rollins backs Thomas into the lane and makes a tough layup over both Thomas and Henniger.
Flashes down 67-62 ... need a score and for Miami to miss free throws.
1:22 ... Two teams spent the last minute trading free throws ... until a tough driving layup by Rollins over Brewer just before this timeout by Miami. That shot has the RedHawks up 65-61.
Brewer has 13 to lead Kent State. K.K. Simmons has added 10 off the bench.
Willie Moore leads Miami with 17.
2:31 ... Brewer missed a transition three for the lead ... Miami then extended to a four-point lead as a wild shot by Moore bounced off of the rim and in.
RedHawks up 61-57.
3:35 ... A lefty drive by Brewer has cut the lead to just two at 59-57... KSU should have another stop as a Miami player whacked Henniger in the head on a defensive rebound ... Instead officials gave ball to RedHawks as it bounced out of bounds.
4:42 ... Kent State run continues ... Derek Jackson added a driving layup for three-point play, and then two Kris Brewer free throws now have the Flashes down just 58-55 with 4:42 to play.
Need a few more stops. Momentum has shifted.
7:22 ... Miami led by 13 until a Dev Manley transition three around the eight minute mark.
KSU will try to continue to cut into Miami's 57-47 lead. Flashes have the basketball coming out of this timeout.
And coming right out of the timeout, Manley has another three to cut the lead to seven points.
11:54 ... Kent State's season is in danger of ending here in round one of the Mid-American Conference tournament.
Flashes are having a tough time with Miami's full-court pressure, and that has helped Miami build a 49-37 lead that could increase with Moore heading to the foul line trying to complete a three-point play out of this timeout.
15:22 ... The RedHawks have their first three of the night, it comes in transition from Willie Moore on the right wing, and it has Miami up 38-33.
Kent State season ends in a first-round loss in Oxford.
It was a frustrating season, but there is help on the way. Kent State will add a post presence in Jimmy Hall next season, and Hall has three seasons remaining and a year of work in this system under his belt. There are also some other nice pieces coming in.
I'm already looking forward to next year.
Brewer finished with 15 points. He and Manley both had open looks from the arc in transition with chances to eclipse two-point leads late.
Willie Moore led Miami with 17 points and six rebounds. Four RedHawks with four in double figures.
0:32.6 ... Rollins backs Thomas into the lane and makes a tough layup over both Thomas and Henniger.
Flashes down 67-62 ... need a score and for Miami to miss free throws.
1:22 ... Two teams spent the last minute trading free throws ... until a tough driving layup by Rollins over Brewer just before this timeout by Miami. That shot has the RedHawks up 65-61.
Brewer has 13 to lead Kent State. K.K. Simmons has added 10 off the bench.
Willie Moore leads Miami with 17.
2:31 ... Brewer missed a transition three for the lead ... Miami then extended to a four-point lead as a wild shot by Moore bounced off of the rim and in.
RedHawks up 61-57.
3:35 ... A lefty drive by Brewer has cut the lead to just two at 59-57... KSU should have another stop as a Miami player whacked Henniger in the head on a defensive rebound ... Instead officials gave ball to RedHawks as it bounced out of bounds.
4:42 ... Kent State run continues ... Derek Jackson added a driving layup for three-point play, and then two Kris Brewer free throws now have the Flashes down just 58-55 with 4:42 to play.
Need a few more stops. Momentum has shifted.
7:22 ... Miami led by 13 until a Dev Manley transition three around the eight minute mark.
KSU will try to continue to cut into Miami's 57-47 lead. Flashes have the basketball coming out of this timeout.
And coming right out of the timeout, Manley has another three to cut the lead to seven points.
11:54 ... Kent State's season is in danger of ending here in round one of the Mid-American Conference tournament.
Flashes are having a tough time with Miami's full-court pressure, and that has helped Miami build a 49-37 lead that could increase with Moore heading to the foul line trying to complete a three-point play out of this timeout.
15:22 ... The RedHawks have their first three of the night, it comes in transition from Willie Moore on the right wing, and it has Miami up 38-33.
Flashes just two points in first 4:30.
FIRST HALF
HALFTIME ... Miami leads 33-31 ...
Kris Brewer hit a 35 footer at the buzzer to put Kent State up 34-33 ... at least until the officials gathered at the monitor. After a long review, they waved off the basket.
Miami has taken advantage of a kind whistle from the officials to get this lead.
The RedHawks are 13-for-18 from the foul line while Kent State is just 4-for-6.
Brewer has seven points to lead KSU. Henniger has added six points and four rebounds.
Will Sullivan's nine points lead Miami.
After going 7-for-7 from three-point range in the first half of last week's game at Kent State, Miami is 0-for-4 from the arc so far tonight.
Flashes have done a good job on Felder. He has just six points and one rebound at the break.
2:40 ... Kent State in the lead now at 27-25, but play still a bit sloppy.
Flashes have true freshman Marquiez Lawrence in the game, trying to give Henniger a breather while Spicer has two fouls.
7:43 ... A Dev Manley three from the right corner – his first MAC Tournament field goal – stopped the Kent State run.
Miami lead is 23-20.
I'm convinced the officials are getting paid by the whistle tonight. Wish they subscribed to the a less-is-more philosophy.
8:46 ... A foul-aided 9-0 run has Miami up on Kent State 21-17, forcing a Flashes timeout.
Miami is 9-for-14 from the foul line while Kent State is 1-for-2.
11:19 ... Kind of a sloppy start for both teams. Too many fouls both ways, although for Kent State those calls aren't leading to free throws. Miami has already been to the line 10 times, going 6-for-10.
Kent State has the lead, though, thanks to a transition three by Kris Brewer just a few seconds ago.
Miami raced down the floor after that three, but a blocked shot by Khaliq Spicer was called a jump ball. Possession to Kent State will have the Golden Flashes with the ball coming out of this media timeout.
Flashes are 6-for-13 from the field and 2-for-4 from three.
Miami is 3-for-8 from field and 0-fo-2 from three ... Nice after Miami was 7-for-7 in the first half against KSU last week.
15:48 ... Kellon Thomas with another fast start. He has five of the Golden Flashes points in an early 7-5 lead. Thomas drilled a long three on a pretty crossover at the top of the key in transition.
Kris Brewer hit a 35 footer at the buzzer to put Kent State up 34-33 ... at least until the officials gathered at the monitor. After a long review, they waved off the basket.
Miami has taken advantage of a kind whistle from the officials to get this lead.
The RedHawks are 13-for-18 from the foul line while Kent State is just 4-for-6.
Brewer has seven points to lead KSU. Henniger has added six points and four rebounds.
Will Sullivan's nine points lead Miami.
After going 7-for-7 from three-point range in the first half of last week's game at Kent State, Miami is 0-for-4 from the arc so far tonight.
Flashes have done a good job on Felder. He has just six points and one rebound at the break.
2:40 ... Kent State in the lead now at 27-25, but play still a bit sloppy.
Flashes have true freshman Marquiez Lawrence in the game, trying to give Henniger a breather while Spicer has two fouls.
7:43 ... A Dev Manley three from the right corner – his first MAC Tournament field goal – stopped the Kent State run.
Miami lead is 23-20.
I'm convinced the officials are getting paid by the whistle tonight. Wish they subscribed to the a less-is-more philosophy.
8:46 ... A foul-aided 9-0 run has Miami up on Kent State 21-17, forcing a Flashes timeout.
Miami is 9-for-14 from the foul line while Kent State is 1-for-2.
11:19 ... Kind of a sloppy start for both teams. Too many fouls both ways, although for Kent State those calls aren't leading to free throws. Miami has already been to the line 10 times, going 6-for-10.
Kent State has the lead, though, thanks to a transition three by Kris Brewer just a few seconds ago.
Miami raced down the floor after that three, but a blocked shot by Khaliq Spicer was called a jump ball. Possession to Kent State will have the Golden Flashes with the ball coming out of this media timeout.
Flashes are 6-for-13 from the field and 2-for-4 from three.
Miami is 3-for-8 from field and 0-fo-2 from three ... Nice after Miami was 7-for-7 in the first half against KSU last week.
15:48 ... Kellon Thomas with another fast start. He has five of the Golden Flashes points in an early 7-5 lead. Thomas drilled a long three on a pretty crossover at the top of the key in transition.
A few of the Flashes need to settle down. Some of the young players are speeding things up a bit.
PREGAME
Derek Jackson has a bandage on his chin. The Kent State guard fell hard, face first to the court in practice last night. He had to get eight stitches.
He says he is ready. Hopefully that’s the case for all of the Golden Flashes, who came out flat when they faced the RedHawks just six days ago in Kent. The Flashes fell behind by 20 in the first half and didn’t have enough gas in the tank to come back.
How the junior backcourt trio of Jackson, Kris Brewer and Devareaux Manley play in this one will probably be the biggest key. When the Flashes won 75-63 here in Millett Hall on Feb. 19, those three combined for 53 points. Last week, they combined for 19. And then at Akron on Saturday, they combined for 21 on 8-for-27 shooting.
This game will not have a MAC Tournament feel. Millett Hall is significantly emptier than last month when we were here. That’s probably a good thing when you consider how little experience the Golden Flashes will draw on for this game.
The player with the most MAC Tournament experience is Derek Jackson at 104 minutes in 11 games scoring 39 points … and those were all while playing for Central Michigan.
Darren Goodson has scored the most points in the MAC Tournament while wearing a Kent State uniform – 20 points in two games last season. The Flashes’ other senior, Mark Henniger, has scored nine total points in five MAC Tournament games totalling 45 minutes.
Kris Brewer has played three MAC tournament games, scoring a total of 13 points (4.3 per game average), and Devareaux Manley has yet to make a field goal in two MAC Tournament appearances. His only two points in 16 minutes of tournament play have come at the foul line.
This will be the first extended MAC Tournament action for most of this group.
An obvious key for tonight is finding a way to slow Will Felder, who has had big games in every game vs. Kent State this season. He was 10-for-18 from the field for 26 points with nine rebounds in Kent last weekend. In game one vs. the Flashes he scored 23 on 6-of-9 shooting.
KSU can’t let him keep getting deep touches without putting a body on him.
Veteran officiating crew: Larry Scirotta, Mike Sanzere and Chris Beaver
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