View photos from Wednesday’s game.

 

In the minutes leading up to tip-off before the men’s basketball game against Buffalo, “Welcome to the Jungle” echoed through the M.A.C. Center. It wouldn’t take long for the Flashes to show the Bulls the meaning of home-court advantage, as they proved it with an 89-54 victory.

With the student sections packed and cheers erupting with every Kent State basket, it seemed difficult for the Bulls to regain composure going into halftime down 10 points.

“When you’re playing well, there’s a lot to cheer about,” Kent State coach Geno Ford said.  “I thought the crowd helped us.  The biggest thing with our students is when they come, they have a good time because where else are you encouraged to act like an idiot?”

Kent State (11-7, 2-2 Mid-American Conference) sent an aggravated Bulls (10-5, 3-1) squad into the locker room at halftime with a 34-24 lead.

Although the score favored Kent State in the first half, the team went 0-of-7 from the 3-point line, but that would change as the Flashes finished 10-of-14 from behind the arc.

Kent State continued pushing around the Buffalo defense in order to maintain the lead for the remainder of the game.

“The second half we were fantastic,” Ford said.  “(Senior guard Tyree Evans) got us started and when he got it going, it kind of spread from there.”

Senior forward Anthony Simpson started the Flashes overwhelming second-half offense with a breakaway windmill dunk, which began an 18-8 run and gave Kent State a 56-34 lead.

The run included three 3-pointers by senior guard Tyree Evans and one from the hands of senior guard Chris Singletary.

While leading the Bulls 64-38 with 8:49 in regulation, Singletary was unable to capitalize on two foul shots following a flagrant foul.

But senior guard Mike McKee followed up with a 3-pointer to give Kent State a comfortable lead at 67-38 with eight minutes left.

The Flashes offense didn’t stop there.

Freshman guard Randal Holt hit back-to-back 3-pointers with under five minutes left in regulation to give the Flashes their biggest lead of the game at 86-47.

Six players scored double-digit point totals for Kent State: Singletary (18); junior guard Rodriguez Sherman (13); Simpson (11); Holt (11); sophomore forward Justin Greene (10).

The Bulls remain winless in the M.A.C. Center with an 0-13 record.

Kent State welcomes its rival Akron, who is coming off a 69-49 win against Ohio, at noon on Saturday.  The game is scheduled to air on ESPN U.

Contact sports reporter Cody Erbacher at [email protected]