Marshall University Athletics
Marshall Men Fall To Kent State, 63-61
1/6/2004 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Marshall Men Fall To Kent State, 63-61
1/6/2004
HUNTINGTON, W.Va. ? The Marshall men?s basketball team lost a hard fought game to the Kent State Golden Flashes, 63-61, Tuesday night in the Cam Henderson Center. Marshall drops to 5-5, 2-1 in the Mid-American Conference, while Kent State improves to 9-2, 3-0 in conference play.
In a game that never swayed more than seven points either way, the Herd could not counteract a hot shooting KSU team, especially from beyond the arc, where the Golden Flashes shot 50% (13-of-26) for the game. The Herd led in most of the other statistics, including rebounding (40-33), turnovers (19-15), and steals (11-4).
Kent State led 32-30 at the half, and for the first eight minutes of the second half, the lead never grew to more than three for both teams. Marshall put together a 9-3 run with the score tied at 44 to make the game 53-47, but KSU immediately responded, knocking in two three-pointers to tie the score at 53 three minutes later. With the score again knotted, this time at 55, Golden Flashes 7?0 center John Edwards knocked down a hook shot in the lane to give the visitors a lead they would never relinquish.
Marshall made it close however, and after a David Anderson (Levittown, Puerto Rico) steal and two made free throws, the Herd trailed by one at 62-61 with 52 seconds to go in the game. Anderson fouled Kent?s DeAndre Haynes, who missed the front end of a one-and-one opportunity, and after a Marvin Black (Cleveland, Ohio) rebound, the ball went back to Marshall with 18 seconds remaining. After a timeout, Marshall point guard A.W. Hamilton (Georgetown, Ky.) had the ball poked away to just beyond the top of the key, where Ronny Dawn (Fort Thomas, Ky.) grabbed it and heaved a three-pointer as time expired. The ball glanced off of the right side of the rim, where Haynes secured it. He was then fouled with .6 to go on the clock and made one of two free throws to give Kent State the winning margin of two.
Bryan Bedford led Kent State with 17 points, 15 of which came on three-point buckets. Eric Haut was the other Golden Flash in double-figures with 15.
Marvin Black (Cleveland, Ohio) added his third double-double of the season with 13 points and ten rebounds to lead the Herd. David Anderson had 12 off of the bench, while Ardo Armpalu (Rapla, Estonia) chipped in ten.
MU returns to action Monday night to take on MAC West Division leader Western Michigan in Kalamazoo. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m.
