After a disappointing defeat in the Mid-American Conference tournament semifinals, the Kent State men’s basketball team was still given an invite to the National Invitation Tournament, where they played a road game against the St. Bonaventure Bonnies (22-12).
The Flashes stumbled out of the gate, going down 16-4, but dominated the final 14 minutes of the half to take a 29-28 lead at the break.
The run continued into the second half, and the team held a lead of at least 10 points for the final 12:59 of the game.
After being down 12 early in the game, the Flashes outscored the Bonnies 71-37 on their way to take a late 22-point lead before eventually winning the game by a score of 75-56.
It was a group-effort win, with every player that played at least five minutes scoring and four players with at least 10 points.
After struggling in the MAC tournament, senior forward VonCameron Davis got back on track to the tune of a team-leading 14 points on 50% shooting from the field including 2-5 on three-pointers.
In a game where Kent State dominated the glass, outrebounding St. Bonaventure 46-29, the Flashes’ big men had a field day collecting boards.
Junior forward Delrecco Gillespie grabbed 10 rebounds, and senior center Cli’Ron Hornbeak snagged 12. Impressive stats on the glass were a part of double-double performances for both players, with Gillespie scoring 12 points and Hornbeak scoring 11.
Senior guard Jalen Sullinger did not have his finest shooting night, going just 4-12 from the field, but he still shot the ball effectively from three-point range on his way to 11 points.
Kent State nearly doubled up the Bonnies in the paint, outscoring them 38-20.
Transfers Cian Medley, Marquis Barnett and Jamal Sumlin all contributed a few buckets each, totaling 21 points among the three players.
As a team, the Flashes shot 50.9% from the field and 50% from three, making nine attempts. The one offensive area where the team still struggled was the free throw line. An 11-21 performance at the stripe was a key factor in Kent State’s semifinal loss last week, and against the Bonnies, 8-15 was no improvement.
With that, a handful are more easily digested when the opponent shoots 34.4% from the field.
After the Bonnies scored 16 points in the first six minutes, the Flashes held them to just 25 points over the next 29-and-a-half minutes.
St. Bonaventure scored 15 of its 56 points in the final five minutes of the game, which was garbage time because Kent State had taken a 20-point lead by then.
With the Flashes’ big men dominating down low, the Bonnies had to utilize the 3-point line, which is not their strong suit.
St. Bonaventure shoots 31.2% on 19.9 attempts per game this season but were forced to put up 27 3-pointers and only made eight for a percentage of just 29.6%
The free-throw line was not the Bonnies’ friend either. Kent State shot just 53.3% at the line, but St. Bonaventure, who shot 72.9% at the line this season, was just 6-13 (46.2%).
Kent State will continue its NIT journey either Saturday or Sunday at Stanford (21-13) for a spot in the regional finals.
Demetri Manousos is a reporter. Contact him at [email protected].