KENT: The difference between Kent State's first meeting with Ohio on Jan. 19 and its second Saturday afternoon can be summed up in one word: maturity.

The time span between the Flashes' first Mid-American Conference loss and its 10th win was less than a month, but it might as well have been an eternity considering the difference in the way that the Golden Flashes played.

In its 72-62 win at the M.A.C. Center on Saturday, Kent State (21-5, 10-2 MAC) looked like a team that had grown up, a team nearly ready for tournament play having raised its lead in the MAC East Division to three games with five games remaining in the regular season.

''(In Athens), we didn't play with a lot of composure or poise,'' Kent State coach Jim Christian said. ''We just didn't play well down there. (Saturday), we were a lot more focused
and played with more poise, especially when they made a run at us.''

Trailing by seven points at halftime, the visiting Bobcats (16-9, 7-5) got to two points down with 9:58 left after a 9-2 run.

A quick time out by the Flashes was all the reminding the group needed to help them snap out of a five-minute scoring drought.

''Ohio's a good team, so we didn't expect them to fold,'' Flashes sophomore guard Chris Singletary said. ''We knew they'd make runs, and we knew we'd have to weather the storm. We know that a part of being a good team is taking the other team's punch and still being able to roll with it.''

It was Singletary who got the Flashes rolling early, shooting with enough confidence to spark a 7-0 lead with a 3-pointer out of the gate.

''I felt like I was hot just off that one shot right there,'' Singletary said. ''I fed off it and just kept playing hard.''

The Flashes led by as many as 12 points in the first half before Bubba Walther entered the game and all but single-handedly kept the Bobcats in the game.

The senior guard, who has been coming off the Bobcats' bench since suffering a concussion against Akron a few weeks ago, made his first three 3-point attempts while quickly racking up 16 of his game-high 22 points before halftime.

''(He) was a big focus at halftime,'' Christian said. ''He's such a good shooter that you can't let him get going early, and we lost him. The first two times he got in the game, he made us pay. . . . But in the second half I thought we did a much better job on him.''

The Flashes kept their trademark defense most of the game. On offense, they played unselfishly, making the extra pass to ensure three players finished in double-figure scoring, led by junior guard Al Fisher's 17 points.

''Kent was on top of its game today; they got us spread out really good,'' Ohio coach Tim O'Shea said. ''Fisher's really having a great year for them. He made tough shots in the lane and did all kinds of things that really broke us down.''

The Bobcats still managed to have four players finish in double figures, with senior forward Leon Williams recording a double-double with 13 points and 12 rebounds.

KSU outscored Ohio 24-16 in the paint, while converting 14 points off of 19 Bobcats turnovers.

Asked if the Flashes were close to peaking, the quiet-spoken Fisher smiled and said: ''Yes, we're playing good right now, but you always can work on things and get a lot better.''