SECOND HALF
FINAL: A big 65-59 win behind a great second-half effort.
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0:15 ... Kent State watched Eastern pull to within a point, but a big three by Derek Jackson with the shot clock running down may have sealed the win for Kent State.
The Flashes are up 61-56.
Kent Staet has the basketball, inbounding under the Eastern basket after this timeout.
Jackson has 14 points and is 4-for-5 from three-point range. Three of those have beaten the shot clock.
3:36 ... Just two minutes ago, Eastern was reeling and shooting just 3-for-19 from the field in the second half.
But after a turnover leading to a breakaway layup by Talley and a blocked Manley 3-pointer leading to a fast break layup by Bond, the Eagles are down only 55-52 now with a chance to cut further into the lead. Bond was fouled on the layup and will go to the line after this timeout.
He hits coming out of the timeout. Just 2 points – 55-53.
6:45 ... The Kent State offense has gone just a bit cold and Eastern has started to right the ship, although the Eagles are settling for some ill-advised shots and starting to freelance a little bit too much on offense.
Karrington has been stuck on 12 for a very long time for Eastern Michigan.
Eastern is just 3-for-17 from the field in the second half. KSU has come all the way back despite shooting just 9-of-20. Remember, they were 6 for their first 7.
9:43 ... A Jimmy Hall layup has forced Eastern Michigan to call timeout as the Kent State lead has swelled to 51-42.
The Flashes have dominated play on both ends since the break. During this timeout, EMU head coach Rob Murphy chewed out official Kyle Ingram, and he had a case as officials missed a clear foul on the Eastern possession that led to the Hall layup.
It is now a 24-5 start to this half for Kent State.
11:47 ... Chris Ortiz has 15 points, two shy of a career high. He is a big reason the Flashes have fought back from 16 down to now 5 points up at 47-42.
The Flashes are 7-for-13 from the field in the half while Eastern is 2-for-9 with 3 key turnovers early in the half.
The first play of the second half was a steal and breakaway layup by Jackson. That was the momentum starter.
15:57 ... A great start to the second half and the Flashes are back in this one, down 40-38.
Whatever Rob Senderoff said in the locker room took hold. And the student section is creating some atmosphere in the M.A.C. Center.
The Flashes are 4-for-5 from the field in the second half, including a corner three by Devareaux Manley on the last possession. KSU will have it coming out of this time out after Talley kicked the ball out of bounds on a drive for EMU.
FIRST HALF
HALFTIME ... Kent State trails 37-27 at halftime and is actually pretty fortunate to be this close. Eastern has dominated the play with the exception of the brief 8-0 Kent State run.
Chris Ortiz has played well, scoring 9 points, but he missed a chance at a momentum builder with a missed dunk in the final minute. The Flashes missed too many shots right around the rim on their way to a 9-for-25 first half.
Two threes by Derek Jackson are the only production from the guard spots as Manley and Brewer are both a combined 0-for-3.
Jimmy Hall had a frustrating first half, going 1-for-6 and getting hit for a technical foul.
Ward scored 12 to lead Eastern. The Eagles shot 52 percent from the field compared to Kent State's 36 percent.
3:32 ... The run reached 8-0 after an old-fashioned three-point play by Akbar. Good to see him convert from the foul line after he had struggled for much of the non-conference season.
Akbar is earning his way back into the rotation with his play on both ends tonight.
The Flashes cut the lead to 8 before a pretty 15-foot jumper by Eastern's Jodan Price. Eagles have the ball again after a miss on the drive by Jackson.
Kent State guards Jackson, Brewer and Manley are a combined 1-for-6 so far.
5:16 ... It's been a tough half for Kent State.
At one point, the Flashes were down 31-20. But an Akbar layup and a Jackson three have the Flashes on a 5-0 run, trimming the score to 31-20.
They'll have a chance to continue the run after a traveling call against Eastern's Anali Okaloji just prior to this timeout.
Gary Akbar has played well, as has Chris Ortiz, who has 8 of KSU's 20.
Karrington Ward has been very good for the Eagles, scoring 12 points on 5-of-9 shooting, including 2-of-4 from the arc.
Manley, who is 13th in the nation in 3-point shooting, has attempted only one shot against the EMU zone – a 25-foot 3-pointer that missed.
11:58 ... The Eastern Michigan lead is 17-11 with Kent State getting the ball out of this timeout after an illegal screen set by Eagles center Mike Samuels – the second foul against the 6-foot-11 senior.
A two-hand dunk by Khaliq Spicer was encouraging as Kent State was patient working against the zone and found Spicer all alone in the left block.
KSU needs to get Jimmy Hall more involved in the offense. He is 0-for-3 and scoreless.
We've been told that Kyle Ingram's technical foul call on Hall earlier was for baiting and taunting. It was a quick call.
13:38 ... Two quick baskets for the Eagles out of the media timeout and the Flashes need to take a quick timeout, down 15-7 and getting beaten in every aspect of the game so far.
Gary Akbar has checked in for the Flashes. He is back in the rotation in large part because he typically makes good decisions and is aggressive against the zone.
No Kellon Thomas tonight, by the way, as he suffered from a dizzy spell earlier.
15:12 ... Kent State is getting a tough whistle in the early going. Some missed calls going Eastern Michigan's way, and some head scratchers going against the Flashes, including a technical foul on Jimmy Hall that saw the KSU sophomore bat the ball off the foot of an Eastern Michigan player and out of bounds.
Chris Ortiz has played well, scoring 9 points, but he missed a chance at a momentum builder with a missed dunk in the final minute. The Flashes missed too many shots right around the rim on their way to a 9-for-25 first half.
Two threes by Derek Jackson are the only production from the guard spots as Manley and Brewer are both a combined 0-for-3.
Jimmy Hall had a frustrating first half, going 1-for-6 and getting hit for a technical foul.
Ward scored 12 to lead Eastern. The Eagles shot 52 percent from the field compared to Kent State's 36 percent.
3:32 ... The run reached 8-0 after an old-fashioned three-point play by Akbar. Good to see him convert from the foul line after he had struggled for much of the non-conference season.
Akbar is earning his way back into the rotation with his play on both ends tonight.
The Flashes cut the lead to 8 before a pretty 15-foot jumper by Eastern's Jodan Price. Eagles have the ball again after a miss on the drive by Jackson.
Kent State guards Jackson, Brewer and Manley are a combined 1-for-6 so far.
5:16 ... It's been a tough half for Kent State.
At one point, the Flashes were down 31-20. But an Akbar layup and a Jackson three have the Flashes on a 5-0 run, trimming the score to 31-20.
They'll have a chance to continue the run after a traveling call against Eastern's Anali Okaloji just prior to this timeout.
Gary Akbar has played well, as has Chris Ortiz, who has 8 of KSU's 20.
Karrington Ward has been very good for the Eagles, scoring 12 points on 5-of-9 shooting, including 2-of-4 from the arc.
Manley, who is 13th in the nation in 3-point shooting, has attempted only one shot against the EMU zone – a 25-foot 3-pointer that missed.
11:58 ... The Eastern Michigan lead is 17-11 with Kent State getting the ball out of this timeout after an illegal screen set by Eagles center Mike Samuels – the second foul against the 6-foot-11 senior.
A two-hand dunk by Khaliq Spicer was encouraging as Kent State was patient working against the zone and found Spicer all alone in the left block.
KSU needs to get Jimmy Hall more involved in the offense. He is 0-for-3 and scoreless.
We've been told that Kyle Ingram's technical foul call on Hall earlier was for baiting and taunting. It was a quick call.
13:38 ... Two quick baskets for the Eagles out of the media timeout and the Flashes need to take a quick timeout, down 15-7 and getting beaten in every aspect of the game so far.
Gary Akbar has checked in for the Flashes. He is back in the rotation in large part because he typically makes good decisions and is aggressive against the zone.
No Kellon Thomas tonight, by the way, as he suffered from a dizzy spell earlier.
15:12 ... Kent State is getting a tough whistle in the early going. Some missed calls going Eastern Michigan's way, and some head scratchers going against the Flashes, including a technical foul on Jimmy Hall that saw the KSU sophomore bat the ball off the foot of an Eastern Michigan player and out of bounds.
Frank Spencer, Kevin O'Connell and Kyle Ingram also gave Eastern Michigan a three that clearly was a two ... Fortunately that they could review. They couldn't review the out-of-bounds earlier.
Kent State has to find a way to battle through this stretch, down 13-7 early.
PREGAME
Kent State will face Eastern Michigan's take on the Syracuse 2-3 zone once again tonight. The zone has been a staple of Eagles head coach Rob Murphy, who was an assistant at Syracuse after leaving Kent State, where he had been an assistant on Jim Christian's first staff in 2002-03.You can hear Golden Flashes head coach Rob Senderoff discuss the Eastern zone (among other things) in his video blog from today:
The Eagles will play 2-3 for 40 minutes, and in this version the guards are set up high, trying to cut off passes to the corner and hunting out steals. They'll even trap the first pass from time to time.
Expect the Flashes to try to get out and run in search of easy baskets while keeping the Eagles from setting up their zone. But if this turns into a half court game, the Flashes need to find ways to get into the middle of the defense with inside-out play. I talked with Senderoff today, and he said Ball State shot it at better than a 50-percent clip on plays that saw the Cardinals get a touch in the middle of the zone in their win over Eastern.
Kent State has the potential to be a very good team against the zone. Devareaux Manley has jumped from 20th to 13th in the nation from three-point range. Kris Brewer and Derek Jackson are also obviously capable of getting hot. The key to their success tonight could be Jimmy Hall, who is has a knack for getting the ball in the post and spotting open shooters on the perimeter. I wouldn't be surprised to see Gary Akbar find his way back into the rotation tonight. Akbar can be successful against the zone, as he showed when he got the ball around the elbow in games early in the non-conference season.
Eastern Michigan has some guards who can really attack on offense in Raven Lee, who is a 6-foot-3 sophomore and the team's top scorer at 14.8 per game, and Mike Talley, a 6-foot sophomore who averages 9.8 per game coming off the bench. Kent State found hem were difficult to handle in transition last season. The Flashes will need to guard them without fouling as both Lee and Talley are very good at getting into the lane and then getting to the foul line.This is another very good offensive rebounding team with seven players averaging at least one per game. Kent State has to do a better job of limiting second-chance points than it did on Saturday at Northern Illinois.
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