Devareaux Manley scored 20 points, Randal Holt added 15 and Kent State defeated Chicago State 92-63 on Friday at the M.A.C. Center in the opener of the Joe Cipriano Nebraska Classic.
The Golden Flashes (2-1) led 42-32 at halftime and outscored the Cougars (1-2) 50-31 in the second half and shot almost 55 percent in the final 20 minutes to pull away for the blowout win.
Manley scored 15 points in the second half on five 3-pointers, and Holt scored eight of his 15 points in the second half for the Flashes.
The Flashes shot 60 percent in the game and scored 29 points off of 20 turnovers. The Flashes committed six turnovers against a Cougars defense that had been forcing an average of 27.5 in its first two games of the season.
Chris Evans scored 14 points for the Golden Flashes, including eight in the second half. Bryson Pope had 10 points and Mark Henniger (Jackson High School) had a career-high 11 points on 5-of-6 shooting for KSU.
Henniger added four rebounds and had a blocked shot and Evans led the Flashes with eight rebounds.
The Flashes’ reserves scored a season-high 46 points and 12 of the 14 players who played for KSU scored.
Jeremy Robinson and Matt Ross each scored 14 points and Nate Duhon added 13 for the Cougars.
The Golden Flashes host Valparaiso at 2 p.m. Sunday as the Joe Cipriano Nebraska Classic continues.
KSU will welcome Bethune-Cookman at 7 p.m. on Tuesday.
