Big second-half run gives Flashes the victory

Bowling Green’s inability to score in the second half led to a 19-0 run for the Kent State men’s basketball team and its first conference victory of the season. The Flashes (8-8, 1-1 Mid-American Conference) won 72-48.

The Falcons went 20-of-58 from the field, a rate of 34.5 percent, and converted on just two of 20 3-point shots. Kent State coach Geno Ford said that was a leading factor in his team’s second half success.

“Tonight we were fortunate,” Ford said. “They really had a tough night shooting the ball.

There were a lot of possessions where they had really good looks and they just didn’t go down.”

Bowling Green’s Chris Knight converted a layup to cut the Flashes’ lead to 41-39 early in the second half, but that would be the Falcons’ last score for 8:19 of game time, allowing Kent State to go on its big run.

The Flashes capitalized offensively on Bowling Green’s poor shooting performance, with four players scoring in double figures – senior guard Al Fisher (21 points), junior forward Anthony Simpson (16), junior guard Chris Singletary (11) and junior guard Tyree Evans (10).

Simpson’s 16 points were a career high and something that the team knows it needs in conference play.

“Tonight was one of his better games since he’s been here,” Singletary said. “You see the outcome.”

The Flashes were outworked for rebounds in the first half and trailed 23-14 in that category at the half. It allowed the Falcons to eventually tie the game at 33 going into halftime.

The Flashes turned those numbers around in the second half and outrebounded the Falcons 19-15, but Ford said those numbers still need to be much better.

“We have a tough time defensive rebounding,” Ford said. “That’s been true all year. Tonight it was 20 offensive rebounds to them to 22 defensive rebounds to us. That’s one of the absolute worst ratios in America.”

Contact sports reporter Chris Gates at [email protected].