The Kent State men’s basketball team overcame a George Mason second-half run to take a 68-62 victory in the O’Reilly ESPN BracketBuster game on Saturday.

The senior guards were vital for the Flashes in the win. Co-caption Armon Gates, 13 points, came up big on both ends of the floor in the second half. He hit four 3-pointers, all in the second half.

With the Flashes up by one with less than three minutes remaining, Gates drew a charge from Patriots forward Darryl Monroe to give the Flashes possession back. On that possession, Gates hit his final 3-pointer of the night to give the

Flashes a three-point lead.

The other captain, Omni Smith, had a game-high 18 points, while adding seven rebounds.

The Flashes, who shot 58 percent from the floor in the first half, were not so accurate in the second, shooting 42 percent. But, they were able to pull together a 9-2 run in the final four minutes.

Sophomore forward Julian Sullinger added 12 points. Sophomore guard Jordan Mincy converted two free throws in the final 17 seconds of the game to put the Flashes up by seven.

As a team, Kent State went 14-of-17 from the free-throw line.

Contact men’s basketball reporter Deanna Stevens at [email protected].