Flashes (MBB) Pick Up Road Win At Stroh

BG and Kent ended up in overtime, but this time Kent was the one that closed things out and BG was the one who went home with the L.  I'm disappointed but still thrilled with how the season is rolling out.

Kent was back at full strength with Cli'Ron Hornbeak playing against for the first time in MAC play.  The Flashes started out hot and had a 10-point lead with 10 left in the first half. The lead was 11 with 8:21 left. BG closed the half on a 20-9 run to head into the locker room tied.

It was a tightly contested 2nd half and excellent basketball.  For the first 11 minutes, the teams traded leads and no one led by more than 4.  Almost all of the time it was a one-possession game.  Kent applies relentless pressure and BG cracked a little and an 11-4 run put Kent up 7 with 6:27 left.  Three minutes later, BG had it tied again.  BG went up 3 with 1:38 left and Santiago nailed a 3FG to tie it with 1:19 left.

BG's ball.  They run clock into single digits, Hill drove to the hole and did not score and Agee had the board and was fouled.  He split the pair, BG up one.  BG put up some real defensive pressure and Kent had to call time to reset.  Edwards was fouled by Spurgin and he split the pair to tie the game... unfortunately, Kent got the rebound and Spurgin fouled Payton with :30 to play. Seemingly all 10 players raced into the corner after a loose ball.

He missed them both and Agee cleared the board. BG ran the clock to :05 and sent Hill to the rim, but he missed in heavy traffic.  Ball went out the baseline to BG, but the Falcons failed to get a shot off and off to OT it was.

Kent led wire to wire in the OT. KSU came out and scored the first 5 points in the first minute of OT.  The lead got to 6 with 2:20 left.  

BG was game, though. Down 4, they got a shot clock violation and then a Spurgin block, and with :34 Turner missed but Hill had the offensive board completed the putback (he is a tough dude) AND drew the foul.  He was at the line, down 2.  He missed the FT....but it was BG's turn to get the rebound. BG called time and coming out Agee missed a layup.  Payton was fouled, this time he made them both and it was a lead of 4 with :25 left.

Hill scored a 2FG with :18 left.  BG fouled Sullinger, and he made both to put it back to 4 with :15 left.

On BG's last possession, Hill missed, BG got the board, Turner missed a 3FG, BG got the rebound, Turner missed another 3FG and that was it.  Two late FTs gave Kent the 6-point OT win.

Honestly, it was a crazy game.  Kent was just a little better at key times.  They are so physical. It was a rough game.  BG never wilted, was able to get back into the game a couple of times and had a shot in the last minute of regulation to win the game and just couldn't convert. Maybe next time.  It was by no means a disappointing effort.

The game went off at 74 possessions for an OT game, equivalent to 66 for regulation.  Both teams had efficient offense.  BG scored 1.14 points per possession, normally a winning rate.  Unfortunately, Kent had 1.22.  That's the 2nd worst in MAC year, right after Akron, our other loss.  Kent came in as the top 3FG shooting team in the MAC, and they made 47% from distance.  BG made 26%.  BG was outshot.  However, unlike other games when they overcame that, this time they had their worst turnover rate in MAC play.

Those two combined could not even out, even with a big advantage on the boards, and a +7 advantage at the line.  BG made 77% at the line.

A couple things.  That's an outstanding night on the defensive boards. The only games where Kent had fewer offensive boards were Oregon and St. Mary's.  That's good work.  On the other side, BG has been outshot in 5 of its 7 MAC games, and the other two were really close.  That's a bit of a high wire act. Teams with better EFG% win 62% of the time.  What BG is doing is tougher to sustain, and you have to take care of the ball.

Sullinger had a career-high 30 for Kent.

For BG, Hill had 21.  It was a rough night though. He made 6 of 17 from 2FG and 0 of 2 from 3FG. Also 5 turnovers.  He did make 9 of 10 at the line, added 8 rebounds and 3 assists.

Spurgin had 19 on 6 of 7 and 1 of 3 shooting, 9 rebounds and 3 blocked shots, two of them in crunch time. Made 6 of 7 at the line. Agee had 17, on 4 of 8 and 0 of 2 shooting, 9 of 12 at the line and 10 rebounds. Trey Thomas had 12, 3 of 8 from 3FG with 3 assists and 3 turnovers.

BG is 5-2, with losses @Akron and Kent.  Saturday at Savage is a test. The next week is @Ball State and CMU at home on Saturday.