Senior forward VonCameron Davis tallied his third 20-plus-point game of the month, and sophomore guard Cian Medley had a 12 point and 10 assist double-double in the Kent State men’s basketball team’s 75-57 win over Bowling Green at the M.A.C. Center Tuesday.
The win is the Flashes’ 11th straight against the Falcons and it is also their first conference win at home in four tries.
“It was a great way for us to bounce back,” coach Rob Senderoff said. “We have five out of our next six games at home, and we needed to get ourselves back with a win — we did a really good job.”
Davis led the way with 24 points, shooting 10-16 from the field, and 4-7 from behind the arc.
“Trusting in the work — me, my coaches and assistant coaches work very hard,” Davis said. “Putting up extra shots and seeing that pay off makes me feel good, and it benefits the team.”
Davis is in his fifth season as a Golden Flash and put up his 50th game with 10 or more points Tuesday.
“It’s a pleasure, and it’s great,” Davis said. “There’s more to come, we have to keep playing and keep winning.”
In the month of January, Medley is averaging 5.75 assists per game, a big boost from his 3.18 average before the month. Medley has also been in double-digit scoring in three of the last four.
“Assists come from two people, so just trusting my teammates, I have a whole lot of confidence in them and also have confidence in me, and it was nice to see shots fall tonight,” Medley said.
KSU got out to an 18-point lead at halftime and never looked back, leading by as many as 25 at one point.
“Everybody did a tremendous job, defensively first and foremost, and then offensively, we shared the ball, shot the ball well and took care of the ball,” Senderoff said.
It was quite the rollercoaster of emotions for the team over the last week, going into Toledo and getting a dominant win and falling by two at the buzzer against Ohio.
“We had a disappointing loss Friday, coming off a really good win last Tuesday — I thought we bounced back the way we hoped we would and the way we needed to,” Senderoff said.
Kent State improved to 13-7 and 4-4 in the Mid-American Conference standings. The team is in a fifth-place tie with Eastern Michigan.
Bowling Green dropped to 7-13, tied for 10th in the MAC standings with Buffalo at 2-6.
Renewing the rivalry
The Akron Zips defeated the Flashes by one point in last year’s MAC title game, sending the Zips to March Madness.
This year, Akron is 15-5 and are in first place in the MAC standings at 8-0.
KSU will look to carry the momentum from its win Tuesday into its game against the Zips Friday at home.
Tipoff will be at 7 p.m.
“Four of the next five are at home, starting this Friday against Akron, who’s playing great,” Senderoff said. “I’m really looking forward to seeing how our team can build as we move forward and move towards the finish line.”
Andrew Gold is a reporter. Contact him at [email protected].