Kent State men’s basketball pulled off the biggest upset possible in the 2024 Mid-American Conference Tournament. The No. 8 seed Flashes defeated No. 1 seed Toledo, 67-59.

“What a great win for us, really proud these guys,” coach Rob Senderoff said. “We put together a game plan based upon the last time we played them, and the execution of our players was as good as it could be.”

The teams faced off a week ago, where Toledo defeated Kent State on Friday, 86-71.

“We watched the entire game on Sunday, and I think it gave our team the belief that if we played the way we played this morning, we had a chance to win the game,” Senderoff said.

After five minutes of play, the Flashes (17-16, 9-10 MAC) led 8-7, with junior forward VonCameron Davis establishing himself early with six points.

Kent State then went on a 7-3 run to lead 15-10 with ten minutes remaining in the half. 

The Flashes were playing tough defensively, holding Toledo to 3-of-10 shooting. Offensively, Davis continued to attack, bringing his total to 10 points on 5-of-6 shooting.

“Our game plan going in was to try and be the more physical team,” Davis said. “The emphasis was just finishing play, being more physical and making the right plays down the stretch.”

Kent State continued to stifle the Rockets defensively over the next four minutes to lead 17-14. Toledo shot 2-8 despite snagging five offensive rebounds in the time frame. 

The Rockets (20-13, 14-6 MAC) then went on an 8-6 run to take the lead 22-21 with three minutes remaining in the half. Junior guard Jalen Sullinger had all six points to keep the Flashes close. 

Kent State then held Toledo to just one made field goal over the remaining time to take a 28-24 lead into the locker room.

Davis led the Flashes with 12 points and six rebounds in the half, while Sullinger scored eight points on 50% shooting. Senior guard Giovanni Santiago made the only three-pointers for Kent State, making two for six points in the half.

“That’s our senior man! He’s played in a lot of big games so we expect him to make the right play and big plays when we need it,” Davis said.

The Flashes shot 46% from the field and 18% from three; the Rockets shot 35% from the field and 29% from three. 

Toledo shot 4-of-9 from the free-throw line, while Kent State did not attempt any despite outscoring the Rockets 22-12 in the paint. 

Kent State came out of the locker room looking more polished offensively, starting with two straight layups from Davis and Sullinger. Junior guard Mike Bekelja then hit a three-pointer to extend the Flashes lead to 35-29 with fifteen minutes remaining. 

In the next minute, Davis scored another basket from the post, before Bekelja buried another three to give the Flashes a 40-29 lead while forcing a Toledo timeout.

The Rockets responded by going on a 10-6 run to inch closer, trailing 46-39 with seven minutes left. Toledo was 3-6 from the field and 4-7 from the line during the run.

Davis continued to dominate the paint over the next two minutes, scoring four more points and tallying a double-double with his tenth rebound. The Flashes led 50-42 with five minutes remaining. 

Kent State then outscored Toledo 11-9 over the next three minutes. Santiago added another three-pointer, while Davis poured in four more points before a Flashes timeout, leading 59-51 with two and a half minutes left. 

Toledo made a run at the lead, getting as close as 59-55 with thirty seconds left. Kent State stayed calm under the pressure to close out the game 67-59.

“We would always say we just need to get to Cleveland,” Bekelja said. “Now that we are here, we just want to capitalize on the opportunity.”

Davis scored a career-high 26 points while grabbing 12 rebounds and dishing three assists. 

Sullinger followed with 14 points and Santiago scored 12. 

Kent State shot 45% from the field and 22% from three; Toledo shot 39% from the field, 29% from three and 48% from the free throw line.

Next up, the Flashes will take on the winner of Central Michigan and Bowling Green on Friday at 5 p.m. in the MAC semifinal. 

“This is the time of the year you just try and play your best 40 minutes,” Senderoff said. “Coaches will prepare, players will get hydrated, listen to the scouting report, and try to figure out what we need to do in this next one.”

Matt Franos is a reporter. Contact him at [email protected]