With momentum swinging in the Bowling Green Falcons’ favor, graduate guard Morgan Safford kept his composure with a trip to the free throw line where he sunk a pair of clutch free throws to ice the game with 40 seconds remaining on Tuesday.
A free-throw-filled matchup led to a 78-71 victory for the Kent State men’s basketball team, a night that felt like the Flashes had control most of the game.
“We played five of six on the road, and we won four,” coach Rob Senderoff said. “So proud of these guys to go on the road and get a win.”
The Flashes officially locked in a spot in the Mid-American Conference tournament, improving to 19-7 (10-3) with Tuesday’s win.
“It’s good to know we are going to have the chance to compete for a conference championship,” Senderoff said. “That’s what we work for.”
Both teams combined for a total of 76 attempted free throws on the night, with KSU sinking 70 percent and the Falcons finishing just behind at 69.4 percent.
In order for foul shots to be awarded, fouls needed to be committed, and both senior forward Delrecco Gillespie and graduate forward Rob Whaley Jr. often ended up on the wrong end of the referee’s whistle.
Gillespie only logged 17 minutes on the night, a far cry from his average of 33.4, after getting two early fouls in the first half as well as two more after halftime.
While Whaley was able to play three more minutes than Gillespie, he was awarded his fifth foul of the night with just under six minutes remaining and watched the rest of the game on the bench.
“We won the game,” Senderoff said. “They got in foul trouble, and other guys had to step up.”
In the absence of two of the Flashes’ better paint defenders, the Falcons attacked inside and outscored KSU by 16 points, keeping them in the game on a bad 3-point shooting night.
With two of KSU’s leading scorers this season in foul trouble, other teammates needed to step up to secure the win, and Safford did just that. The veteran started the night on a scoring heater, draining his first four 3-pointers and scoring 14 of KSU’s 16 points early.
“He shot the ball with confidence and was aggressive,” Senderoff said. “No hesitation.”
The guard went on to score 27 points, leading the Flashes, grabbing seven rebounds in the process, calming the offensive tempo with Bowling Green threatening a comeback.
Playing 35 minutes, junior guard Cian Medley also had a big role in the win, scoring 15 points, including an electric 3-pointer with just under 12 minutes remaining, where he turned to KSU’s bench and pumped his fist.
3-point shooting was a struggle for Bowling Green and the biggest separator between the teams, as the Falcons never could hit a big shot from beyond the arc to cap their runs and seize momentum. The Flashes finished 37 percent from the 3-point line while Bowling Green could only muster 21.1 percent.
Steady offensive output is a good sign for KSU, as that has been a struggle for stretches this season.
Turnovers have been the biggest back-breaker for the Flashes recently but the team kept the give-away count to just 10 on Tuesday. Averaging almost 14 turnovers a game on the year, the Flashes turned the ball over seven times in the first half, seemingly heading toward another bad night. In the second half , KSU flipped the script and was able to limit turnovers to three.
On the other side of the ball, the Flashes applied pressure well defensively, forcing 13 turnovers and scoring 12 points off of them.
As Bowling Green stared at a nine-point deficit with under four minutes remaining, defensive stops and timely points in the paint allowed KSU’s lead to dwindle to two points with time winding down, putting the Flashes in a situation they have been in plenty of times this season.
Senderoff has stressed the importance of closing out games in the past weeks, and Tuesday’s matchup was no different. Previous experience was exactly what the Flashes needed to stay calm and make their free throws to ice the game in another close matchup.
Tuesday’s win marked the Flashes’ 14th straight victory against Bowling Green, a win streak that dates back to the 2019-2020 season.
WHAT’S NEXT
After a grueling stretch of road games, the Flashes will return home to take on the Central Michigan Chippewas on Tuesday for their second meeting this season. In the first matchup, Central Michigan upset KSU by two points in the Flashes’ arguably most unexpected loss to a conference opponent this season.
Before this matchup, the Flashes will get a much deserved week off from games.
“We have a bye week,” Senderoff said. “Time to get ourselves rested and ready for the stretch run.”
Josh Szeremet is a reporter. Contact him at [email protected].
