With 32 seconds remaining in another tight game for the Kent State men’s basketball team, junior guard Cian Medley stepped back and sank a deep 3-pointer, hushing Worthen Arena and icing the game in the process.
KSU never trailed on Saturday, but once again needed late-game heroics to secure a 75-68 victory over the Ball State Cardinals.
“When it got late, and we needed to make plays to win the game, we made them,” coach Rob Senderoff said. “I’m proud of our guys because it’s hard to consistently win.”
Following the win, the Flashes improved to 19-7 (10-3), and have now won five of their last seven games, picking up a difficult road win in the process.
Throughout the season, having both the offensive and defensive sides of the ball play cohesively has been a struggle, but in the matchup against Ball State, both sides held up relatively well at times.
Offensively, KSU finished the night 9-for-26 from beyond the arc and overall 25-for-57 from the floor; an average night for an offense that has struggled recently.
Similar to Wednesday’s meeting with Eastern Michigan, freshman guard Quinn Woidke played the spark plug role coming off the bench. Woidke scored 11 points in the first half, including three 3-pointers, leading his team at halftime.
“His ability to shoot the ball and play with confidence really brings a spark to this team,” Senderoff said. “He has continued to do that throughout the year.”
Woidke was not the only Flash to play well offensively, as senior forward Delrecco Gillespie scored 22 points and grabbed 10 rebounds in the process. It was good enough for his 20th double-double, still leading the nation in that category.
“He helped set the tone early in the game,” Senderoff said. “I think that’s important for him and our team.”
On the other side of the ball, the Flashes held the Cardinals to just 34% from the floor and 33% on 3-pointers, as well as winning the rebounding battle by nine. Ball State’s inability to score at a high clip in the first half was the biggest reason the Flashes entered the locker room with a nine-point lead.
It seemed all KSU would have to do to win was take care of the ball. Unfortunately, costly turnovers put the Flashes back into a situation they are all too familiar with this season, a close game.
10 points were generated for the Cardinals off of nine KSU second-half turnovers, all coming in important moments.
Of KSU’s last 12 games prior to Ball State, 10 had been decided by less than six points. While Saturday’s contest was decided by seven points, it was no better.
Leading for over 38 minutes, KSU should have taken care of the Cardinals much earlier, but a less-than-ideal second half made for a tight game.
“The second half we were not quite as good,” Senderoff said. “A lot that needs to be cleaned up, including the turnovers.”
A 13-point Flashes lead with just under 16 minutes to play was erased as part of an 11-1 run by the Cardinals, making it just a three-point ballgame heading into the final stretch of the game.
In the six minutes before Medley’s clutch 3-pointer, the Flashes struggled to score, only scoring six and allowing their lead to fall to just one point in the middle of that stretch.
Medley only scored three points against Ball State, but he was continually seen leading his teammates and making sure they were in a position to win.
“We sometimes talk about the basketball gods rewarding you for how you approach the game and are as a teammate,” Senderoff said. “Today I think the basketball gods awarded Cian for his leadership.”
As KSU has tended to do, intensity picked up when it was necessary in a half that they were outscored by two points, to pick up a tough conference win.
NOTES
Redshirt sophomore forward Rayvon Griffith returned to the lineup against the Cardinals after suffering a bad-looking injury against Southern Miss., only missing one game before returning.
The forward did not score in his return but contributed in other ways, including an assist and two hard fought rebounds in just 10 minutes played.
WHATS NEXT
Staying on the road, the Flashes will head to Bowling Green to take on the Falcons in the second and final regular season matchup between the two teams on Tuesday.
In the first meeting, KSU snuck out a gritty three-point victory and will need to play well all-around to beat the Falcons.
“We are 19-7 and 10-3 in the league,” Senderoff said. “If you take that for granted, there is a problem.”
Josh Szeremet is a reporter. Contact him at [email protected].
