A pair of clutch free throws from junior guard Isaac Taveras with one second remaining handed the Kent State men’s basketball team their second loss in the MAC-SBC Challenge, this time to the Southern Miss. Golden Eagles by a final score of 66-65 on Saturday. The afternoon matchup featured 10 lead changes and nine times tied; it took all 40 minutes to decide a winner.
“Very disappointed we lost,” coach Rob Senderoff said. “We have to improve upon the biggest takeaways from the game.”
Following the loss, KSU drops to 17-7 (8-3) and wraps up its three-game road trip with two losses. Playing away from home has been an issue for the Flashes this season as they are 4-5 in away games and could be something to watch looking ahead to the Mid-American-Conference Tournament, which is held in Cleveland.
Out-of-conference losses are less significant while in the pursuit of a MAC title, but a more important loss came out of the game that potentially will impact the team’s goals.
Redshirt sophomore forward Rayvon Griffith suffered a brutal ankle injury early in the meeting. Griffith lay pounding the floor before being carried off the court by two Flashes teammates.
Averaging 4.6 points on the season, Griffith has stepped up as a bench scoring option in KSU’s previous two games. The forward scored 11 points and grabbed eight rebounds against the Toledo Rockets, then previously dropped six points with 17 boards in a matchup with the Akron Zips.
Senderoff had no updates on Griffith to share postgame.
3-point shooting was once again a struggle for the Flashes in the first half, shooting just 3-for-14 from downtown. First-half shooting has been a recurring issue in the previous few games, including a 2-for-12 effort against the Rockets and a 1-for-10 against Akron that spiraled into a 1-for-23 night from beyond the 3-point line.
Two of the Flashes’ 3-pointers came from the hand of junior guard Cian Medley. Medley finished the first half with 10 points, leading the team, and would go on to make as many 3-pointers against Southern Miss. as he had in the previous three games.
In the wake of losing Griffith, bench points did not come easily for the Flashes through the first half, as not a single reserve scored a point, and the team finished with just nine total on the afternoon.
Despite the Golden Eagles shooting well in the first half, finishing at 50% from three as well as 48.1 from the floor, the Flashes only trailed 30-34 heading into halftime.
A hot streak of shooting from the Flashes in the middle of the second half led to the first real separation between the two teams, as KSU got out to a 21-10 run started by a layup from graduate forward Magnus Entenmann.
As a part of this run, freshman guard Quinn Woidke scored seven of the Flashes’ nine bench points in the afternoon. The freshman out of St. Ignatius High School made two 3-pointers in the second half and a free throw, including a deep shot almost halfway through the half that gave KSU a 44-43 lead, its first since seven minutes into the game.
Momentum seemed to be all in KSU’s favor as the game headed into the closing stages, as graduate forward Rob Whaley Jr. took over, scoring eight points during this stretch, including a tough layup through contact that ended with a flex and scream towards the crowd.
As the Golden Eagles pushed back into the matchup, the officials got on both team’s bad sides with controversial calls. Southern Miss head coach Jay Ladner threw his suit jacket off his back onto the ground and frustratingly argued with officials following a no-call on a layup attempt.
In the final seconds, Whaley Jr. fouled Taveras on a layup attempt that would lead to the game-winning free throws.
Free throws were the biggest separator between the teams in an afternoon, as the Flashes struggled from the line. KSU finished 8-for-18, leaving 10 points on the board, while the Golden Eagles only missed five free throws.
Postgame, Senderoff echoed that the biggest takeaway needs to be improved upon before tournament play.
“Closing out games,” Senderoff said. “We have got to get better at closing out games.”
Key Stats
Senior forward Delrecco Gillespie, Whaley Jr. and Medley all finished with 15 points on the night, tied for the team lead.
Gillespie grabbed nine boards in the effort, falling just one short of his 19th double-double on the season.
What’s Next
The Flashes return home to the M.A.C. Center to resume conference play against the Eastern Michigan Eagles on Wednesday.
In the first matchup between the teams, double overtime was needed to decide a winner as KSU won by one point on the road. Eastern Michigan has not won a game since January 13th and will look to break that streak as road underdogs against KSU.
“There are things we need to improve upon as we head into conference play,” Senderoff said. “The execution needs to be fixed on both ends of the floor.”
Josh Szeremet is a reporter. Contact him at [email protected].
