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Mistake-filled half leads to crushing loss in NCAA opener
By Stephanie Storm
Beacon Journal sportswriter
Published on Friday, Mar 21, 2008
OMAHA, NEB.: Shot after shot clanged off the rim. Others rimmed in and out. Some hit nothing but air.
And those were the plays in which Kent State at least got the ball near the basket. The Golden Flashes went nearly six minutes between their first and second baskets and seven-plus minutes between their third and fourth.
Much of Kent State's first-half offense against the University of Nevada-Las Vegas on Thursday in the opening round of NCAA Tournament play in the Midwest Regional resulted in turnovers — 17 to be exact.
As a result, the No. 9 Golden Flashes shot a miserable 20.8 percent and managed a record-low 10 points in the first half, ultimately falling 71-58 to the more composed eighth-seeded Rebels.
''The first half of basketball was just so unlike how we played all year,'' Kent State coach Jim Christian said. ''We just came out and played with no confidence, just made silly mistake after silly mistake. . . . I don't think you could ever see it coming. I was very surprised.''
It would be hard to convince Kent State players there could be a worse start.
The statistics, as bad as they were, barely describe the early meltdown in front of the 17,162 fans at Omaha's Qwest Center.
Kent State's 10 first-half points tied an NCAA Tournament record for the worst offensive output in an opening 20 minutes. The Flashes put themselves in the books along with Wake Forest. The Demon Deacons trailed Butler 43-10 at halftime in a first-round game of the 2001 tournament.
The reason for such a poor showing in front of a national television audience was hard to pinpoint.
Was it intimidation, playing a program that reached the Sweet 16 last year? Perhaps nerves? Fear, even?
''I don't think anybody was scared or had fear,'' Flashes senior forward Haminn Quaintance said. ''We just didn't do what we did all year to get here.''
Junior point guard Al Fisher, the Mid-American Conference Player of the Year, agreed.
''We didn't come out the way we wanted to come out,'' said Fisher, who finished with more turnovers (four) than assists (three). ''We were making silly turnovers, and it seemed like it just kept happening. We were getting a couple shots we wanted right on top of the rim, but they weren't falling.''
In the horrible first half, the Rebels (27-7) weren't disrupting the Flashes (28-7) as much as the Flashes were disrupting themselves.
''We couldn't seem to buy a basket,'' said KSU senior forward Mike Scott. ''They weren't doing anything too sophisticated that we couldn't stop. . . . We were 2 feet from the rim and missing point-blank shots. I think we were a little too wound up for the game.''
Scott's 14 points led four players in double-figure scoring for KSU and his team-high 10 rebounds gave him a double-double. Scott also contributed five of the team's 20 turnovers in the game.
By halftime, one message was clear to the befuddled Flashes.
''Coach let us know that we weren't playing with any heart,'' Quaintance said. ''We knew there was no possible way that we could have played worse. So we felt that we just had to keep fighting and try and make it a game.''
UNLV's ball pressure on defense and constant ball movement on offense helped the Rebels maintain their comfortable 21-point halftime cushion through most of the second half, however.
''I really felt good about the way our guys opened the ballgame,'' Rebels fourth-year coach Lon Kruger said. ''We were real sharp defensively, talked well, made aggressive switches and got to a lot of loose balls.''
Junior forward Joe Darger led the way for UNLV with a game-high 18 points that included four 3-pointers — three in the second half that helped thwart any idea of a KSU rally.
The Flashes finally cut the deficit under 20 points on a Scott jumper with 8:41 to go, but a pattern of trading baskets with UNLV ensued and kept the game out of reach.
''I just hope people really appreciate the year we've had and not dwell on this game,'' Christian said. ''I thought this year was phenomenal from start to finish. Unfortunately, we just played poorly in the last game we played.''
Stephanie Storm can be reached at sstorm@thebeaconjournal.com.
OMAHA, NEB.: Shot after shot clanged off the rim. Others rimmed in and out. Some hit nothing but air.
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