Kent State Races Past Central Michigan in 116-106 Shootout

KENT, Ohio- If you are a fan of offense in college basketball, the M.A.C. Center on the Kent State University campus was the place to be Monday night.

The Kent State Golden Flashes and the Central Michigan Chippewas played the highest scoring Mid-American Conference Tournmament game in history. The Flashes prevailed 116-106 in overtime.

The sixth seeded Flashes advances to the quarterfinals of the M.A.C. Tournament Thursday night at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland. Kent State will face the third seeded and reigning M.A.C. Tournament champion Buffalo Bulls.

Jimmy Hall would not let his Golden Flashes lose at home in the first round of the M.A.C. Tournament for a second consecutive year. The senior lead Kent State with 33 points and pulled down 13 rebounds. The 33 points is a career high.

All five starters for the Flashes finished in double figures. Jaylin Walker had 29 points. Jalen Avery finished with 24 points. Deon Edwin had 17 points. Mitch Peterson added ten points.

Kent State only had three points from its bench the entire game.

The Flashes rallied from a 13-point halftime deficit. The Chippewas put up 53 points in the opening 20 minutes. Kent State outscored Central Michigan 51-38 in the second half and 25-15 in overtime.

Central Michigan was lead by the NCAA’s leading scorer Marcus Keene with 41 points. Keene has scored at least 40 points in a game seven times this season.

Kent State improves to 19-13 on the season.