Before its game against the Akron Zips on Jan.19, the men’s basketball team was in a good position, sitting just one game behind in the Mid-American Conference East Division with a 2-1 conference record. The Flashes have since lost three games in a row, including two close home losses to Akron and Ohio, two teams tied atop the MAC East.

Now four games behind in the division, Kent State is hoping to turn its season around, beginning with a road matchup against Northern Illinois at 8 p.m. Wednesday in the Convocation Center in DeKalb, Ill.

The Flashes (11-9, 2-4 MAC) fell 69-68 to Ohio at the M.A.C Center last Saturday, despite holding a three-point lead with just less than three minutes remaining in the contest. Kent State coach Rob Senderoff said it was a situation in which he felt his team had the ability to succeed, but simply fell short.

“Usually when we’re up by three with the ball, I would feel like, ‘OK, let’s finish this off,’” Senderoff said. “We just haven’t been able to. We’ve got to find a way to get over that hurdle because we’ll be in this situation again at some point.”

Senderoff noted the team’s conference wins over Buffalo and Ball State as examples of instances where the Flashes were able to close out games with leads late in the contest. The Flashes have been more successful at doing this on the road than at home as of late.

With the upcoming game against the Huskies (4-14, 2-4 MAC), Kent State could have a prime opportunity to bounce back from its three-game losing streak.

“That’s going to be a big game for us, it goes without saying,” Senderoff said. “We played incredibly hard [Saturday], and at the end they made a few more plays than us. We did not respond well.”

Senderoff expects his team to respond better Wednesday against NIU, a team coming off one of its worst offensive performances in recent history. The Huskies lost 42-25 against Eastern Michigan Saturday after scoring an NCAA record-low four points in the first half and shooting just 13 percent for the entire game.

Despite their offensive futility, the Huskies managed to record their best defensive effort this season, allowing a season-low 42 points and forcing the Eagles into 15 turnovers.

Sophomore guard/forward Abdel Nader leads the Huskies in points (13.1) and rebounds per game (4.7). NIU ranks last in the MAC in many major categories including points per game, assists, and field-goal percentage.

The Flashes continue to rely on senior duo Chris Evans and Randal Holt, who sit first and second on the team’s scoring list with 17.1 and 14 points per game. Evans is also second in the conference in points per game and fourth in rebounds per game at 7.4.

Senderoff will be looking for the two seniors to show the level of leadership that he said is essential if the Flashes are to bounce back against the Huskies and snap their losing streak.

“I’ll be ready, and I’m going to have our team ready,” Senderoff said. “But our seniors have to step up and take the responsibility of making sure our team plays focused and plays as hard at Northern Illinois as we did against Ohio. That’s not easy when you lose a game like that to bounce back. But we have to bounce back.”

Holt, who missed a potential game-winning shot against the Bobcats Saturday, knows how hard the team prepared and played in its last game, and he understands what the team will need to pull off the win Wednesday night.

“We got to come out real aggressive,” Holt said. “Get a drop on them early. Try to build a lead and just try to come out with a victory. That’s the whole plan. We don’t go into any of these games without our goal of coming out with a victory. That’s our [goal] every game we touch the court. So that’s what we’re going to do — go out there and find a way to get the victory.”

Contact Tim Dorst at [email protected].