The Kent State men’s basketball team took its season-high four-game winning streak into Bowling Green and extended it after a high-octane first half.

On Tuesday, the 91-84 victory extended the winning streak to five games.

“We’re just continuing to play well here in February,” coach Rob Senderoff said. “Getting road wins in the conference is never easy. There were certainly some things we could have done better, but I am really happy with how we played.”

For the Flashes, it is their fifth road win against a Mid-American Conference opponent in six attempts so far this season.

The win was fueled by senior guard Jalen Sullinger’s season-high 32 points. The figure also matched his previous career high.

Sullinger was all over the floor against BGSU, as he also contributed five rebounds, five assists and went a perfect 15-15 from the free throw line.

This game marked the 12th time in a row the Flashes have defeated BGSU.

“The ability to get any win in the league this late in the season is good for us,” Senderoff said.

How it went

The Flashes came out hot and controlled the game from the first half.

KSU did not shoot particularly well in the first half, going 15-31 (48.39%) from the floor and 3-11 (27.27%) from the 3-point line. The difference was in the defense, as Kent State held Bowling Green to 8-30 (26.67%) from the floor while converting on only two 3-pointers in nine attempts.

The game was knotted early in the game at 11 each, but KSU quickly got out to a 15-4 run to take a commanding lead.

After the first 20 minutes, Sullinger had only totaled 11 points for the game. Meanwhile, redshirt senior forward VonCameron Davis only hit the stat sheet for seven points in the first half.

The Flashes extended its lead in the last few seconds of the first half, giving KSU a 13-point cushion going into the break. Kent State led 41-28.

“We executed well, we moved the ball well all night, our energy was really high,” Senderoff said. “We did the things that good teams do in terms of how we started the game and how we prepped for the game. The staff did a good job getting our guys ready, and the players did a good job following the game plan.”

The second half started with BGSU getting back in the game, as the Falcons cut the deficit in half in a little under four minutes.

BGSU embarked on a 12-6 run to open the second half, applying pressure on the Flashes, but KSU would handle the pressure by keeping the lead and extending it back to 11 points at one point.

About seven minutes into the half, the lead was cut down to five after a huge BGSU 3-pointer, but KSU immediately went on an 11-3 run to give itself the 13-point lead the team had at halftime back.

KSU would reach the 13-point lead a couple more times in the game, but it would never get higher than that.

With a little over two-and-a-half minutes left in the game, BGSU hit some free throws and a big layup to cut the lead to four points, the closest it had gotten in the second half.

The teams traded free throws before Sullinger hit a jumper to get the lead back to eight points.

KSU missed a shot and fouled the Falcons, giving BGSU another point on free throws, making the score 88-84 with 30 seconds left in the game.

The Falcons fouled Davis, who made one of two from the line, and Kent State got the board on the other side of the floor after a missed BGSU 3-point attempt.

Sullinger was fouled and made both his free throws to give the Flashes a seven-point lead to ice the game. BGSU tried one more 3-pointer but missed again.

“There are a lot of things that go into winning the game, and we made enough plays to win the game, which is what we’re trying to do here,” Senderoff said. “We competed at a high level, and I am proud of the guys for sticking together when it got tight and making the plays you need to make to win on the road.”

At the end of the game, Sullinger scored six of the Flashes’ final seven points.

Recapping the win

Sullinger and Davis were impactful at the end of the game, and during the game as a whole.

Sullinger scored a game-high, season-high and a tied career-high 32 points on the day. He shot well over 50% from the floor (8-13) while scoring 15 of his points from free throws.

“He did a great job letting the game come to him,” Senderoff said. “He was really strong with the basketball, which is why he got fouled as many times as he did. Allowing the game to come to him has really opened things up for him as a player this year, and in doing that, he’s been really, really efficient.”

Another player shooting at high percentages with high point contributions was Davis. He scored 22 points on 8-15 on field goals and 3-6 from 3. He added two rebounds and two assists for the night.

Off the bench, senior guard Marquis Barnett dropped a 12-point outing, the most point production of anyone not in the starting lineup for the game.

He went 6-10 with three of his misses coming from 3-point range. He hit the glass for four rebounds and dished out one assist. He was also a force on defense, blocking the ball twice and stealing it once.

The 30 minutes Barnett played against BGSU was a season-high, and so was the block figure.

Barnett has been in double-figure scoring in three of his last four games.

The Flashes had five blocks in the game – the other three came from senior center Cli’Ron Hornbeak, who also added eight points, seven rebounds and one steal.

As a team, the Flashes turned it up in the second half efficiency-wise. KSU went 18-28 from the floor in the second half for a 64.29% figure. The Flashes shot almost 16% more efficiently in the second half than the team did in the first half.

KSU only attempted six 3-point attempts in the second half, but the team converted on only a couple of them.

While KSU shot a below-average 29.4% from 3-point range for the game, the team only attempted 17 3’s. The team did not rely on the 3-ball.

With the efficient second half, KSU ended up shooting nearly 56% on field goals, giving the team the clear edge over BGSU, who only shot at 40% flat.

In 23 free throw attempts, KSU only missed three times. Of the 20 free throw makes on the night, Sullinger was responsible for 15 of them.

Even though KSU outshot BGSU by nearly 16%, the Falcons were able to stay in the game due to the free throw opportunities.

The Falcons went to the line for 34 shot attempts. The team made 27 of the shots. Had the Falcons made all their free throws, the game would have gone to overtime.

“We put them to the free throw line too many times in the second half,” Senderoff said. “That impacted our defense, and we did not rebound the ball. They had too many offensive rebounds in the second half, as well.”

Looking ahead

The Flashes will stay on the road for a matchup with Miami (OH) University, which will take place with an 8 p.m. tipoff time.

It will be a big game, as Miami is second in the MAC with a 10-3 conference record and a 19-7 overall record.

“They have had an excellent season,” Senderoff said. “They are obviously playing really well, and it is going to be a good opportunity for us to continue to play well. We’re just trying to stay engaged and locked in on the 40 minutes ahead of us.”

The Flashes are tied in fourth place, still, with Ohio University with the Bobcats’ win Tuesday. Kent State has the edge in the standings, as both teams are 8-5 in MAC play, but KSU is 18-8 overall.

Miami took care of business on Kent State’s floor in January, as the RedHawks knocked off KSU 70-61.

In that game, Kent State just could not shoot the ball, going 38.3% from the floor, and 13.8% on 3-pointers.

KSU has dropped the last two games against Miami, but the Flashes have won nine of the last 12 matchups against the RedHawks.

“They’re all big games down the stretch, and this is the next one in front of us,” Senderoff said. “We’ve put ourselves in a position where these games in late February are meaningful, and we’re excited about having an opportunity to play a meaningful game.”

John Hilber is sports editor. Contact him at [email protected].