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By Stephanie Storm
Beacon Journal sports writer
POSTED: 07:32 p.m. EDT, Mar 10, 2009
CLEVELAND: Without suspended guard Chris Singletary and on just one day of rest, Kent State outlasted Northern Illinois 64-61 this afternoon in the Mid-American Conference Tournament at Quicken Loans Arena.
With the first-round victory, the sixth-seeded Golden Flashes (19-13) advance to Thursday's quarterfinals to play No. 3 seed Buffalo (19-10), which earned a first-round bye.
The Flashes were led by Al Fisher, who is known for his late-game heroics. But Fisher, a senior guard, didn't wait until the second half to start his highlight show.
Fisher scored the Flashes' first 11 points, including 3-pointers on his first three shots.
Fisher scored 20 of his game-high 25 points in the first half.
''Their guard Fisher just really put his team on his back and made some big plays,'' Huskies coach Ricardo Patton said. ''There were a number of his shots that were contested by our players, but he really did a nice job of making tough baskets.''
When Fisher, who played a game-high 39 minutes, began to tire and Northern Illinois began pulling away late in the first half, KSU junior guard Mike McKee came off the bench and made two clutch 3-pointers that helped the Flashes forge a 37-37 tie at halftime.
''In the first half, everything just seemed to be going in,'' Fisher said. ''In the second, I came out with the same mindset, but everybody on the team came in and contributed and stepped up. So it was a lot easier when [the Huskies] doubled me and whoever got [the ball] did what they were supposed to do.''
The lead went back-and-forth for the first nine minutes of the second half before KSU's early energy began to fade.
With perhaps all the emotion and fatigue from Sunday's big win over rival Akron catching up with them, the Flashes simply went flat.
KSU went more than five minutes without a basket and Northern Illinois' lead grew to 56-48 with seven minutes to go.
''Our whole thing in the huddle was 'just stay together,' '' McKee said. ''When we were down six, eight [points], I don't think anyone in that huddle thought we were going to lose the game.''
With Fisher especially spent, the duo of McKee and center Brandon Parks jolted the Flashes — and the large throng of KSU fans in the stands — back to life.
''Our guys hung in there and battled and believed we were going to find a way in spite of trailing the majority of the game,'' KSU coach Geno Ford said.
Another McKee 3-pointer and key defensive rebound combined with back-to-back buckets by Parks inside tied the score 58-58 with just less than four minutes to go.
In the pivotal final minutes, McKee and Parks again made several key contributions, especially on the boards.
''I just got in the zone when I got the tip in,'' Parks said. ''It really got me going. I knew what I was capable of and just tried to do whatever we needed to win the game.''
Although Fisher was KSU's most valuable player, Ford thought Parks was the game's unsung hero.
It's funny, he only had six points and four boards, but I really feel he won the game for us,'' Ford said. ''Brandon got two huge putbacks and on the defensive end he challenged some shots around the rim.''
The Flashes took the lead for good with 2:45 to go on two free throws by Julian Sullinger, who was playing with four fouls. And Fisher had one last offensive charge in him, scoring KSU's final two baskets to secure the win.
Stephanie Storm can be reached at sstorm@thebeaconjournal.com.
CLEVELAND: Without suspended guard Chris Singletary and on just one day of rest, Kent State outlasted Northern Illinois 64-61 this afternoon in the Mid-American Conference Tournament at Quicken Loans Arena.
With the first-round victory, the sixth-seeded Golden Flashes (19-13) advance to Thursday's quarterfinals to play No. 3 seed Buffalo (19-10), which earned a first-round bye.
The Flashes were led by Al Fisher, who is known for his late-game heroics. But Fisher, a senior guard, didn't wait until the second half to start his highlight show.
Fisher scored the Flashes' first 11 points, including 3-pointers on his first three shots.
Fisher scored 20 of his game-high 25 points in the first half.
''Their guard Fisher just really put his team on his back and made some big plays,'' Huskies coach Ricardo Patton said. ''There were a number of his shots that were contested by our players, but he really did a nice job of making tough baskets.''
When Fisher, who played a game-high 39 minutes, began to tire and Northern Illinois began pulling away late in the first half, KSU junior guard Mike McKee came off the bench and made two clutch 3-pointers that helped the Flashes forge a 37-37 tie at halftime.
''In the first half, everything just seemed to be going in,'' Fisher said. ''In the second, I came out with the same mindset, but everybody on the team came in and contributed and stepped up. So it was a lot easier when [the Huskies] doubled me and whoever got [the ball] did what they were supposed to do.''
The lead went back-and-forth for the first nine minutes of the second half before KSU's early energy began to fade.
With perhaps all the emotion and fatigue from Sunday's big win over rival Akron catching up with them, the Flashes simply went flat.
KSU went more than five minutes without a basket and Northern Illinois' lead grew to 56-48 with seven minutes to go.
''Our whole thing in the huddle was 'just stay together,' '' McKee said. ''When we were down six, eight [points], I don't think anyone in that huddle thought we were going to lose the game.''
With Fisher especially spent, the duo of McKee and center Brandon Parks jolted the Flashes — and the large throng of KSU fans in the stands — back to life.
''Our guys hung in there and battled and believed we were going to find a way in spite of trailing the majority of the game,'' KSU coach Geno Ford said.
Another McKee 3-pointer and key defensive rebound combined with back-to-back buckets by Parks inside tied the score 58-58 with just less than four minutes to go.
In the pivotal final minutes, McKee and Parks again made several key contributions, especially on the boards.
''I just got in the zone when I got the tip in,'' Parks said. ''It really got me going. I knew what I was capable of and just tried to do whatever we needed to win the game.''
Although Fisher was KSU's most valuable player, Ford thought Parks was the game's unsung hero.
It's funny, he only had six points and four boards, but I really feel he won the game for us,'' Ford said. ''Brandon got two huge putbacks and on the defensive end he challenged some shots around the rim.''
The Flashes took the lead for good with 2:45 to go on two free throws by Julian Sullinger, who was playing with four fouls. And Fisher had one last offensive charge in him, scoring KSU's final two baskets to secure the win.
Stephanie Storm can be reached at sstorm@thebeaconjournal.com.
Comments
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akron, oh
Posted 08:33 PM, 03/10/2009
Do you think she could write WHY Singletary was suspended?
Kent, OH
Posted 09:39 PM, 03/10/2009
Haven't you read any of the previous articles? I think its pretty clear if you take the time to look around.
Posted 07:41 AM, 03/11/2009
Hey Johnnyoutback, maybe you can write about why you are such an IDIOT! Go Kent!
_________, OH
Posted 08:29 AM, 03/11/2009
"Do you think she could write WHY Singletary was suspended"
It's because he took a pot shot at Nate Linhart (Akron vs Kent) Sunday. Sucker punched him in the abdomen on a "non play" he was ejcted from not only that game but also sat out yesterday's play. That little boy has some growing up to do.
Posted 10:30 AM, 03/11/2009
Speaking of little boys with growing up to do, I doubt Linhart will EVER grow up, considering he has never been punished by Akron, the MAC, or even the refs for his cheap shots (the blind-sided hit on he took on Singletary while getting pounded in last year's MAC Championship game ring a bell?).
Also, the excessive whining, acting, and temper-tantrums from Akron players has to stop. I thought it was over when the Hipshurs and Dials left. Linhart has stepped up right where they left off.
Posted 10:31 AM, 03/11/2009
Also speaking of growing up to do, I see Nikola Cvetnovic played yesterday. Good to see he was punished after pointing at his jersey and flicking off Kent's student section following Akron's loss to Kent Sunday.
akron, oh
Posted 04:02 PM, 03/11/2009
cloverfield, you whine more than the whole Akron team combined.
Singletary will wind up doing jail time after college. If I had any money, I'd put it on that.
Kent, OH
Posted 05:59 PM, 03/11/2009
seemehaha, I agree with you on both points.
Cloverfield, its all in who sees what. Apparently the "right" people did not see the alleged birdy from Cvetnovic, so something like that really can't be punishable.
Posted 08:38 PM, 03/11/2009
and no ref saw linharts cheap shot to the jewels, either. which begs the question why they didn't go to the video on that one. i'm just saying, fair is fair.
if no ref sees a play in one game and they decide to go back to the video, why couldn't they have done the exact same thing under the same circumstances in a different (and even more important) game.
i agree w/ cloverfield, i thought the whining at Akron left w/ the aforementioned crew, but apparently whining & not winning titles are traditions that don't graduate at Akron.
