Box Score

The final game of the Men’s Against Breast Cancer Classic came down to a second-half showdown, as Yale snapped Kent State’s four game winning streak with a 66-59 win.

The Flashes got off to a hot start, leading Yale in the first half by a score of 32-24. It seemed as if Kent State was going to pull away with the lead, growing to as much as 13 points.  

Redshirt sophomore Jimmy Hall led the way for the Flashes, scoring 22 points on a 10-of-16 shooting effort. Hall was the only Kent State player in double figures, scoring 12 of his 22 points in the first half.

Kent State converted on 56.5 percent (13 for 23) of its shots from the field in the first half. The Flashes were able to shut down Yale in the first half with high intensity shown on the defensive end of the ball. Kent State held Yale to 35 percent shooting from the field.

Outplayed down the stretch

Right out of the gates in the second half, Yale chipped away the lead, countering every single shot Kent State took. 

Yale went on a 13-6 run to open the second half and outscored the Flashes by 15 points.

“They made a couple more plays down the stretch, head coach Rob Senderoff said. “Give them credit. We had a number of opportunities we kind of squandered. “

For the first time all season, the Flashes had more turnovers than they had assists. Kent State turned the ball 10 times to only eight assists.

“We weren’t as focused,” Jackson said during the postgame conference. “We weren’t focused or didn’t make the plays we needed to. We need to stay focused. We’ll get back in the gym and correct it on Saturday.”

Yale’s Matt Townsend scored 12 points on 5-for-5 shooting from the field and hit the go-ahead bucket with 45 second remaining to give Yale the lead. 

The Flashes allowed five Yale players to score in double figures. The Flashes also surrendered a 50 percent field-goal percentage in the second half that allowed Yale to get back in the game. 

“I thought this weekend was good for us in a lot of ways,” Senderoff said. “We’ll regroup over the next week and we will get better. The sky is not falling because we’re 4-1.”

The Flashes will return to action after Thanksgiving break on Saturday, November 29 at against the University of Loyola-Chicago inside the M.A.C. Center. 

Contact Ray Strickland at [email protected].