With its 83-81 overtime win over Buffalo Wednesday, Kent State moved into a three-way tie for third place in the Mid-American Conference East Division with a coveted fourth seed in the MAC tournament still up for grabs.

The Flashes (16-12, 6-7 MAC) will need to win as many of their remaining conference games as they can, and they’re up for another opportunity when they take on Miami (8-18, 3-10 MAC) at 3 p.m. Saturday at Millett Hall in Oxford, Ohio.

The focus for the Flashes the last few weeks has been finishing games strongly, which has led to two wins over the course of the week. Wednesday’s game was yet another instance of a contest that stayed tight down the stretch and was ultimately decided by one crucial play.

The game against Buffalo went Kent State’s way in the end, and senior forward Chris Evans said it was because of the work the team put in on finishing halves and games strong.

“We’ve lost so many close games this year in the last two minutes,” Evans said. “Whether it was not getting a big rebound or not getting a defensive stop. So it definitely feels good to be on the other end of that and be able to come out with the victory.”

Against the last-place RedHawks, the Flashes will need to apply the same philosophy. Miami has lost its last six games.

“If we do what we do well, we’ll come out on top,” Evans said. “That’s play defense, rebound, and just be tough and be more physical out there.”

RedHawks guard Allen Roberts leads the team in scoring this season with 13 points per game off the bench.

Flashes coach Rob Senderoff said Miami plays much differently than a team like Buffalo, and those unique qualities are what the Flashes need to look out for the most.

“It’s going to be a tough game for us on the road,” Senderoff said. “They like to press and trap, and they play very fast. We’ve got to make sure that we can handle pressure. We’re going to have to be better defensively against them.”

Compared to other teams in the MAC, the Flashes have had one of the better months of February in terms of wins and losses. Kent State was 5-2 for the month, with its only losses coming against Western Michigan and Ohio. Senderoff is hoping the trend continues into the next month.

“We just have to find a way to gut out another road win to start off the month of March the right way,” Senderoff said.

Contact Tim Dorst at [email protected].