Simpson leads with 19 points

For the second-straight game, the Kent State men’s basketball team used a dominating first-half en route to a 75-68 victory at Eastern Michigan last night.

Kent State (16-7, 7-2 Mid-American Conference) extended its winning streak to six games.

“We made a couple big (shots),” Kent State coach Geno Ford said. “They’re playing well. To come in here and get a win after they just had as big a win they’ve had in a while (at Akron), this was pretty big for us.”

Using a 12-point lead out of the first half, the Kent State offense glided to victory, leading by as many as 15 points in the second half.

Back-to-back 3-pointer’s by Eagles senior guard Carlos Medlock cut into Kent State’s 15-point lead, taking the score to 40-31 with 14:08 left in regulation.

The score remained within 10 points until Kent State converted on three-straight attempts getting a comfortable 51-36 lead.

Medlock kept fighting for the Eagles (11-11, 3-6) as he scored four straight points, cutting the Flashes lead to 11 points.

A jumper by senior guard Tyree Evans followed by four more points from senior forward Justin Dobbins brought Eastern Michigan within striking distance at 53-45 with 7:53 left in regulation.

Following a deep 3-pointer by Antonio Green, Eastern Michigan inched closer at a 57-50 score with 4:52 remaining.

But the Eagles couldn’t gain the composure to catch Kent State.

In the first half, Eastern Michigan put a little scare in the Flashes as the Eagles tied the game at 16-16 with 7:17 remaining. Previously Kent State controlled the game without giving up the lead.

Senior Brandon Parks helped Kent State take an 18-16 lead with an easy layup. After a jumper by Dobbins, Evans hit a shot behind the arc, giving Kent State a 21-18 lead.

Evans’ shot ignited a 14-2 run.

Senior guard Mike McKee followed up with a deep 3-pointer of his own to give Kent State a 24-18 lead. Evans followed up with his third 3-pointer of the half with 4:56 remaining.

Medlock brought the game to 27-20 as he cut to the hoop for a quick score.

Junior Guard Rodriquez Sherman quickly continued Kent State’s offense with two free throws to take a nine-point lead.

Senior forward Anthony Simpson, who scored 10 points in the first half, rounded out the half with a 3-pointer of his own to give Kent State its biggest lead of the half going into halftime with a comfortable 32-20 lead.

Junior forward Brandon Bowdry caught the Flashes’ defense off-guard initially in the first half, as he scored 10 points in the first 12 minutes, but he only totaled 15 points for the game.

Kent State shot well from the field going 52 percent (25-for-48) and 55 percent (19-for-28) from three-point range.

“You get a good win tonight and you want to feel good and enjoy it,” Ford said. “We’ve got 48 hours and we got to play at Central (Michigan).”

Kent State finishes its two-game road stretch against Central Michigan on Saturday before returning home to face Ball State on Wednesday.

Contact sports reporter Cody Erbacher at [email protected].