Kent State earned its 16th consecutive win against host Eastern Michigan on Wednesday with a 62-58 victory.
It also extended the Flashes’ winning streak over their Mid-American Conference West Division foes to 29 games, a run that extends back to 2008.
The game came down to the wire before the Flashes (17-6, 7-3 MAC) emerged victorious over the West Division-leading Eagles (10-14, 5-5).
With 2:14 to go and the score tied 56-56, KSU senior forward Justin Greene pounced on a loose ball near the baseline, managed to cover it up and call a timeout so the Flashes could set up a play with a new shot clock.
After three consecutive missed shots, the Eagles took possession on a defensive rebound. J.R. Simms turned a loose ball into two points, causing Kent State coach Rob Senderoff to call another timeout.
The Flashes couldn’t get the ball into the post out of the timeout, but junior guard Randal Holt came to the rescue. With 20 seconds left, the Flashes’ top 3-point marksman nailed a long 3-pointer that gave the Flashes a 59-58 lead. The winning shot was Holt’s fifth 3-point attempt of the night and the first to go in.
“Randal has got just incredible, incredible heart,” Flashes assistant coach Bobby Steinburg said during KSU’s post game radio show. “Randal is one of those guys who, when the game’s on the line, he just keeps his cool and can hit big shots.”
Staunch defense helped the Flashes whittle a majority of the final 10 seconds off the clock. With six seconds left, junior forward Pat Jackson blocked the shot of EMU’s Darrell Lampley. Junior guard Chris Evans recovered the ball and was quickly fouled.
“Pat’s really athletic and he got his hand on that one and that really saved the game,” Steinburg said. “Lamply had been torching us, so when he got past our first line of defense, it could have been tricky until Pat came up big.”
Then Evans made two free throws that padded the lead to three points.
Lampley led all scorers with 18 points and also had seven assists and five rebounds.
For Kent State, Greene scored a team-high 17 points along with six rebounds, three steals and an assist. Senior guard Carlton Guyton chipped in 11 points and four assists and Evans rounded out KSU’s double-figure scorers with 10 points.
