Kent State’s basketball team lost its 23-game home win streak Thursday after losing 113-108 to James Madison University in double overtime. 

The last time the Flashes allowed 100 points in a game was in 2017 against Central Michigan.

“Ultimately, they made a couple more plays than us, but there’s a lot we can learn from and a lot we need to get better from,” coach Rob Senderoff said. “We’ll learn from it and make sure that we make the adjustments we need moving forward.”

KSU falls to 1-1 on the season, and JMU is now 2-0.

After defeating No. 4 Michigan State 79-76 on Monday, James Madison is the first Division I team in the last 30 years to open a season with back-to-back road, overtime wins.

In the first half, the Flashes struggled to stop the pick and roll while the Dukes shot 61% from three to take a 43-38 halftime lead. 

After halftime, Senderoff made the adjustment of switching screens, which led to more stops and more momentum for the Flashes offense. 

“We eliminated some of their ability to get threes off by switching some screens and doing some different things,” Senderoff said. 

Junior guard Jalen Sullinger led the charge in the second half, scoring 30 points on the night, including seven three-pointers. 

Graduate forward Chris Payton was his running mate, scoring 25 points along with 17 rebounds. 

Sullinger and Payton carried Kent State to an 89-84 lead with 3.8 seconds remaining before disaster struck. 

The Duke’s senior Noah Friedel caught a full-court pass on the wing and hit a turnaround three that left them down 89-87 with 1.2 seconds remaining. 

On the ensuing inbound, the Flashes junior guard Mike Bekelja was called for an offensive foul for pushing off a defender. 

James Madison received an inbound on the baseline, where Friedel snuck through a staggered screen to score a wide-open layup to end regulation.

“It should have never come down to that; at the end of the game, we relaxed and didn’t pay attention to details,” redshirt senior Giovanni Santiago said. “We gotta learn from it and move on.”

In the first overtime, both teams battled back and forth until the Dukes pulled away 101-96 with 24 seconds remaining after a pair of free throws. 

The Flashes opted for a quick two-pointer that turned into a Payton dunk to bring the score within three. 

Kent State applied full-court pressure, causing a turnover that resulted in a baseline inbound. 

Sullinger came off a staggered screen to the corner and buried a fadeaway three to tie the game at 101 with ten seconds remaining. 

The Flashes earned a defensive stop to go to a second overtime.

Once again, the second overtime was back and forth until Duke’s junior guard Terrence Edwards hit a three to stretch the lead to 109-105. The Flashes were unable to get back in the game after the dagger.

“Our main objective was to get better,” Payton said. “We came out and fought, and I think there is a lot to take away.”

Next up, the Flashes will have a quick turnaround, playing Fresno State in the M.A.C.C. at 7 p.m. on Saturday.

The Bulldogs defeated Fresno Pacific 77-66 in their only game this season. 

FSU had four players score 10 or more points in the contest, as senior guard Xavier DuSe

ll led the way with 19. 

“It’s good to play again because we don’t want this lingering for a while,” Senderoff said. “We’ll get some rest and digest the film and be ready to go.”

Matthew Franos is a reporter. Contact him at mfranos @kent.edu.