Flashes beat Northern Illinois, 76-46. Miss the game? Catch up by viewing our soundslide.

 

Sophomore forward Justin Greene said the Kent State men’s basketball team’s goal is to break its opponent’s spirit in every game.

The Flashes did just that while beating Northern Illinois last night at the M.A.C. Center, 76-46. With the win, Kent State stretched its win streak to five games.

The Flashes gained the lead 1:49 into the game. It was a lead the Flashes wouldn’t surrender the entire game, giving them an easy route to the 30-point victory.

“I remember seeing when Randal (Holt) got a fast-break layup and the guy inbounded the ball, he looked like he didn’t want to play anymore,” Greene said. “He just looked up at the score and was ready to get out of here.

“That’s what we try to do to teams every night. We want to try to build big leads, try to break their spirit and get out of there with a win.”

Yesterday’s game provided a change of pace from Saturday’s game against Western Michigan when the Flashes won on a last-second three-point play.

“We almost lost at Western Michigan (and) coach Ford was telling us good teams don’t play bad two times in a row,” said Greene, who scored a team-high 18 points.

The Kent State defense kept the Huskies’ offense quiet, allowing Northern Illinois to score only 17 points in the second half and holding the team to 2-for-15 from 3-point range.

“I thought we guarded well,” Kent State coach Geno Ford said. “Xavier Silas is the most talented player in the league. I thought Tyree (Evans) did a great job guarding him. He missed a couple open ones, and that’s the part you’re fortunate for, I thought defensively we were good.”

Silas, a junior guard, entered the game scoring 21.1 points per game, but the Flashes held him to seven points on 1-for-9 shooting from the field.

Kent State didn’t trail Northern Illinois in the first half, except for in the first 30 seconds of the game when the Huskies scored the first basket.

Eleven minutes into the game the Huskies cut into the Flashes lead and brought the score to 20-18.

Minutes later, Kent State used a three-point play by Greene to take the score to 23-18, and the Flashes led by no less than four for the rest of the game.

The Flashes spread the ball around in the win, with four players scoring in double-digits: Greene (18), senior forward Anthony Simpson (12), freshman guard Randal Holt (11) and senior guard Chris Singletary (10).

Kent State’s two-game road stretch will start against Eastern Michigan on Thursday. The team then will travel to face Central Michigan on Saturday.

Contact sports reporter Cody Erbacher at [email protected].