For the third straight season, Kent State men’s basketball will compete in the Mid-American Conference Tournament Championship.
Guards Giovanni Santiago and Jalen Sullinger combined for 11 shots from behind the arc en route to a 73-60 victory over Bowling Green (20-13) Friday night.
“They shot the lights out all night,” coach Rob Senderoff said. “It’s really great to be able to move on and play in another championship game because it’s not easy to do.”
After not being able to compete in last year’s MAC Tournament due to an injury, Santiago was happy to be able to help contribute this time around.
“It’s never the same when you’re not playing,” he said. “Knowing that this is my last year, I just wanted to do whatever I can to help us win.”
Even with the hot shooting from three, the guards totaled 11 of Kent State’s 12 assists.
“You have to have good guard play in March, and you have to take care of the ball,” Senderoff said. “You have to make the right plays, and tonight, they did that at a really high level. That’s why we’re still playing.”
After redshirt junior forward VonCameron Davis’ 26-point performance the day before against Toledo, Santiago said, “They have to either double him or let us shoot.”
KSU connected on 12 of its 18 attempts from behind the arc – against the Rockets, Kent State shot 5-of-23.
“As a shooter, you don’t think about it too much,” Sullinger said. “There’s always a ‘next time’ mentality, so we can see the shots that we can make.”
Bowling Green started the game on an 11-6 scoring run, as KSU (17-16) did not convert its first two-point shot until the 11:43 mark of the first half.
The Flashes responded with a 28-9 run, taking a 32-22 lead with three minutes remaining in the first half.
In the final minutes of the half, KSU converted only one shot, and the Falcons cut the deficit to 34-28.
Over the first 20 minutes, Kent State shot 50% and was 7-of-10 from deep. BGSU was limited to two shots from behind the arc and 40% shooting.
During the opening eight minutes of the second half, BGSU cut the KSU lead to 45-42, as Falcon guard Marcus Hill scored seven of his 22 points.
The Flashes forced the Falcons to miss seven of their next eight shots, rebuilding their lead to 63-51.
KSU and BGSU would go back and forth for the rest of the game as the Flashes booked their championship game ticket.
Santiago and Sullinger were the only KSU players in double figures, and junior center Cli’Ron Hornbeak added nine points and grabbed a game-high nine rebounds.
As a team, the Flashes shot 51% and converted 12 of their 18 shots from behind the arc. The Falcons shot 37% and were successful on four of their 20 shots from deep.
Coming into the game, Senderoff knew it was going to be important to win the rebound battle.
“We knew if we were able to stay about even on the glass, we thought we’d have a chance,” he said. “We wanted to make sure we kept the body on the body as much as possible, and we did a great job with that.”
KSU won the rebound battle 33-29.
With the victory, KSU will now take on the winner of the second semifinal game (Akron and Ohio) in the championship game Saturday at 7:30 p.m.
During the regular season, the Flashes were 0-4 against both teams and were outscored by 32 points.
To win three games in three days, it starts with the players’ belief, Senderoff said.
“Hopefully, we can execute the game plan as best we can, and if we can do that, then we’ll give ourselves a chance tomorrow,” he said. “Both teams are great teams, so we’re going to have to make sure we’re focused on what we need to do.”
Jacob Shondel is sports editor. Contact him at [email protected].
