 led by as many as 17 points early in the second half. But the Golden Flashes (5-1) rallied to tie it midway through the second half. Ohio State then answered with 17 straight points to regain control.Duane Washington Jr. added 16 points and Luther Muhammad chipped in 13 for the Buckeyes.Danny Pippen had 19 points and Antonio Williams scored 17 for Kent State.Washington had a pair of 3s on his way to 10 first-half points for Ohio State, which led 35-23 at the intermission.The teams traded the lead early before Ohio State's D. J. Carton scored on a strong drive for a 12-11 lead. The Buckeyes then went on a 16-4 run, which included six points from Washington and five from Muhammad. Carton capped the run with a 3 off an assist from Andre Wesson to make it 33-19 with 2:00 left in the half.A Muhammad three put the Buckeyes ahead 40-23 with 17:33 left. Ohio State still led 45-32 after an Andre Wesson 3 with 15:13 left.But the Flashes, fueled by one 3 from Pippen and two from Williams, went on a 16-3 run to tie the game at 48-48 with 10:30 left.Ohio State answered by scoring 17 straight points with 11 of those coming at the foul line. Kyle Young's two free throws gave OSU a 65-48 lead with 3:55 left.The Buckeyes enjoyed a big advantage at the free throw line, where they were 22 of 30. Kent State was 4 of 7.For the second year in a row, Ohio State played a game at St. John Arena. St. John served as the home arena of Ohio State basketball for 42 seasons from 1956-57 through 1997-98 before the program moved down the street to Value City Arena. The Buckeyes improved to 7-0 in games at St. John since that move.BIG PICTUREKent State: Veteran coach Rob Senderoff has to like the way his mix of veterans and newcomers put a scare into the Buckeyes. Back in their element in the MAC, the Golden Flashes could be a conference contender once again.Ohio State: The Buckeyes already boast wins over the likes of Cincinnati and No. 22 Villanova. They get one more tune-up against Morgan State before visiting No. 6 North Carolina on Dec. 4.NEXT UPKent State: The Golden Flashes host Stetson on Saturday.Ohio State: The Buckeyes host Morgan State on Friday at Value City Arena.)
Nov 24, 2019It will be battle of 5-0 in-state teams when Kent State plays at No. 10 Ohio State in Columbus on Monday.For the Buckeyes, it will be their second in-state game, having beaten Cincinnati 64-56 in the Nov. 6 season opener.In comparing how the Golden Flashes might fare against the Buckeyes, a look at a common opponent may be an indicator.Kent State downed Purdue Fort Wayne 75-68 on Nov. 19. Three days later, Ohio State routed the Mastodons 85-46 in typical fashion under third-year head coach Chris Holtmann.Kent State has beaten another Ohio school, Wright State 72-71 on Nov. 16, and is off to its first 5-0 start since 2002-03. But if the Golden Flashes have a chance to knock off the Buckeyes, they must find a way to score on an airtight defense and not fall behind early.OSU is allowing 52.0 points per game and no opponent has made more than 20 field goals or shot better than 33 percent from the floor. The Buckeyes are winning by an average of 25.4 points per game and allowing teams to shoot 31.3 percent from the field.Ohio State guard Duane Washington Jr. said the defense-first philosophy is a habit."The same approach every single day," he said. "We're all serious-minded guys right now. In practice, we've been locked in on the details and the little things, and that's one of the reasons we're playing the way we are." Purdue Fort Wayne coach Jon Coffman has seen that firsthand, having lost 107-61 to the Buckeyes last season."I will say how impressed I am -- for the second year in a row -- with the discipline Chris is able to get his team to play with," he said. "Two games in a row here, he's been able to take the space we create and really shrink it. He has his guys play a 40-minute game defensively." Ohio State jumped to a 25-7 lead against his team on Friday, but Kent State showed in an 89-59 win over Division II Concord on Friday that it can start well too.After falling behind by six or more points in three of their first four games, the Golden Flashes opened a 7-0 lead on Concord and were up 50-32 at the half."It was important that we started the game out well," said Kent State coach Rod Senderoff said. "I thought we got out to a great start. At halftime we had 11 assists and 10 offensive rebounds." The Golden Flashes were buoyed by the progress of guard C. J. Williamson. He broke his foot in preseason camp and had played only seven minutes this season before getting seven points, three rebounds, two steals and two assists in 14 minutes vs. Concord."He's another guy that at different points in the season is going to add a lot to our team," Senderoff said.The game will be played at St. John Arena, home for the Buckeyes from 1956-98 until Value City Arena opened.--Field Level Media
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