Update: Flashes' roll continues into postseason with win over Miami in MAC tourney opener

Miami's Mekhi Lairy is stuffed by Kent State's Malique Jacobs (left) and Akeeem Odusipe in Thursday's Mid-American Conference quarterfinal game on in Cleveland, Ohio, at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.
Miami's Mekhi Lairy is stuffed by Kent State's Malique Jacobs (left) and Akeeem Odusipe in Thursday's Mid-American Conference quarterfinal game on in Cleveland, Ohio, at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.

The postseason has arrived, and Kent State’s men’s basketball team is still rolling like a freight train.

After closing the regular season with 12 consecutive wins, the second-seeded Golden Flashes (22-9) opened Mid-American Conference Tournament play with a convincing 85-75 victory over No. 7 seed Miami (14-18) in the quarterfinals on Thursday at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland.

The Flashes will meet No. 3 seed Ohio University (24-8) in Friday’s second semifinal, with tip-off at approximately 7:30 p.m. in Cleveland. The defending MAC Tournament champion Bobcats defeated No. 6 seed Ball State 77-67 on Thursday.

Kent State junior guard Malique Jacobs pressures Miami's Isaiah Coleman-Lands in a Mid-American Conference Tournament quarterfinal game on Thursday March 10, 2022 in Cleveland, Ohio, at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.
Kent State junior guard Malique Jacobs pressures Miami's Isaiah Coleman-Lands in a Mid-American Conference Tournament quarterfinal game on Thursday March 10, 2022 in Cleveland, Ohio, at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.

Junior guard Malique Jacobs led four Flashes in double figures with 21 points, hitting 12-of-15 free throws, and also grabbed 11 rebounds for a double-double. He held Mekhi Lairy scoreless until the final 5:40, when the RedHawks’ senior guard poured in 14 points to make things somewhat interesting down the stretch.

“(Jacobs) was fantastic defensively, and that allowed us to get the lead,” said KSU head coach Rob Senderoff. “I thought he relaxed a little bit late on defense, and Lairy made some big plays. But (Jacobs) did what he’s done all year. He was locked in defensively to his matchup, he was all over the place, created turnovers (3 steals), he was on the glass. He played a really good game tonight.”

Kent State's Sincere Carry drives in for a basket against Miami in a Mid-American Conference Tournament quarterfinal game on Thursday March 10, 2022 in Cleveland, Ohio, at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.
Kent State's Sincere Carry drives in for a basket against Miami in a Mid-American Conference Tournament quarterfinal game on Thursday March 10, 2022 in Cleveland, Ohio, at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.

Kent State junior guard Sincere Carry, the 2021-22 MAC Player of the Year, shot just 5-of-15 from the floor for 15 points but dished out eight assists.

“I wasn’t worried about making or missing shots. I don’t need to put the ball in the basket to make an impact on the floor. I was just letting the game come to me,” said Carry. “I feel like teams are starting to focus more on me, so I'm getting two (defenders) on me. That makes it easier for me to find my teammates open and get them easier shots.”

Senior forward Justyn Hamilton was the main beneficiary of the extra attention Miami gave Carry. Hamilton also scored 15 points on 7-of-10 shooting from the floor, with several makes coming from point-blank range off Carry assists. Hamilton also grabbed nine rebounds.

Kent State's Justyn Hamilton blocks the shot of Miami's Elijah McNamara in a Mid-American Conference Tournament quarterfinal game on Thursday in Cleveland, Ohio, at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.
Kent State's Justyn Hamilton blocks the shot of Miami's Elijah McNamara in a Mid-American Conference Tournament quarterfinal game on Thursday in Cleveland, Ohio, at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.

“(Hamilton) was great too,” Senderoff said. “He finished around the rim, he was a presence on both sides of the ball. He played a really good game for us.”

Grad student guard Andrew Garcia scored 12 points, senior forward Tervell Beck finished with eight points and six rebounds, while sophomore guard Giovanni Santiago added eight points and three assists.

Flashes take proper approach

Senderoff was concerned about his squad staying humble and focused after winning 14 of 15 games since mid-January. Jacobs opened Thursday's contest with a pair of turnovers as Miami jumped out to a quick 7-3 lead.

“We had a great mindset coming in. We were just a little jittery at the start, then settled in and played great,” said Senderoff. “Honestly, minus the last three minutes, I thought we played about as good as you can play.”

Kent State's Andrew Garcia drives over Miami's Precious Ayah for a second-half basket in a Mid-American Conference Tournament quarterfinal game on Thursday March 10, 2022 in Cleveland, Ohio, at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.
Kent State's Andrew Garcia drives over Miami's Precious Ayah for a second-half basket in a Mid-American Conference Tournament quarterfinal game on Thursday March 10, 2022 in Cleveland, Ohio, at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.

Kent State seized control with a flurry of 3-pointers midway through the first half and was never seriously threatened thereafter, although the RedHawks refused to go away for the full 40 minutes.

Clinging to an 18-16 edge, Santiago buried the first of four 3s by four different Flashes over a three-minute stretch. Carry closed the 3-point barrage with a bomb over Miami 6-foot-7 forward Kamari Williams, putting Kent State up 30-19. Jacobs threw down a ferocious one-handed dunk following a steal and feed from Santiago, then capped a 16-4 spurt with a pair of free throws for a 34-20 lead.

The RedHawks made a couple of runs at the Flashes. They closed the first half with six straight points to cut KSU’s lead to 41-32 at the intermission, then junior guard Dae Dae Grant opened the second half with a 3 to make it a six-point game.

But the Flashes scored the next 12 points, including an and-one dunk by Hamilton off a feed from Jacobs, to go up 18.

The 12-point flurry did not include a 3, which was by design according to Jacobs.

“We were shooting a lot of 3s early,” said Jacobs. The Flashes shot 7-of-18 from 3 and 9-of-13 from 2-point range in the first half. “I told the guys to shoot at lot of 2s, drive it then kick it out for 3s. That's what we did.”

Kent State’s cushion remained in double-digits until Lairy hit a 3 to trim the lead to 77-68 with 2:04 remaining. The RedHawks crept within seven after Lairy was fouled while shooting a 3-pointer and converted all three free throws, and Grant had a shot spin out that would have made it a five-point game in the final minute.

Santiago wound up putting it away with a pair of free throws at the 22-second mark that gave the Flashes an eight-point lead.

“The last three minutes, you’ve got to give Miami credit. They didn’t quit. But we did relax, and we allowed them to get back into the game,” said Senderoff. “They had to make plays, but we allowed some of that. We’ve got to tighten that up. We need to get the ball in (Carry’s) hands more at the end of the game when we’re facing pressure.”

Kent State didn’t make a 3-pointer in eight second-half attempts, but shot 26-of-31 from the free-throw line in the final 20 minutes to hold off the RedHawks.

Give and take

The 6-3 Jacobs used his length on both ends of the floor against the 5-8 Lairy.

“I just posted up (on offense). I knew I had a little guard on me, and I could just play through the post,” said Jacobs. “(Defensively), we didn’t want them to get comfortable. We wanted to get up on them and make it hard to catch the ball. We knew they’re a good 3-point team and a good free throw team, so we wanted to make them drive then just wall up.”

The RedHawks shot 5-of-25 from 3.

Carry guarded Grant, Miami’s All-MAC guard, who finished with 15 points, six rebounds and five assists but shot just 6-of-19 from the field and 1-of-7 from distance.

Senior forward Dalonte Brown, the RedHawks top post player, could only go seven minutes due to an illness. Still, Miami managed to inflict damage inside with seniors Precious Ayah (7-of-8 field goals, team-high 16 points, 6 rebounds) and Elijah McNamara (5-of-7 shooting, 13 points).

"We put all of our bigs on an island tonight for the entire game because we were so concerned with their guard play,” Senderoff said. “(Ayah and McNamara) played really well for them tonight. We’ll approach things defensively a little differently in the next game.”

Next: After claiming its first MAC tourney win in Cleveland since 2018 on Thursday, Kent State will continue pursuit of its first MAC Tournament championship since 2017 on Friday against the Bobcats.

What: 2022 MAC Men’s Basketball Tournament Semifinals

Who: No. 2 seed Kent State (22-9) vs. No. 3 seed Ohio (24-8)

When/Where: Friday, approx. 7:30 p.m./Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland

TV/Radio: CBS Sports Network/GoFlashes app, Varsity Network

Regular season results: The Bobcats won 80-72 in Athens on Jan. 7, the Flashes won 75-52 in Kent on Feb. 18

Bobcats leaders: Mark Sears, 6-1, So., G (19.4 points, 5.8 rebounds, 4.3 assists, 1.7 steals). Ben Vander Plas, 6-8, Sr., F (13.9 points, 6.7 rebounds, 3.1 assists, 1.8 steals). Jason Carter, 6-8, Sr., F (13.6 points, 6.3 rebounds)

Flashes leaders: Sincere Carry, 6-1, Jr., G (18.7 points, 4.5 rebounds, 4.8 assists, 1.5 steals). Malique Jacobs, 6-3, Jr., G (12 points, 7.6 rebounds, 3.1 assists, 1.5 steals). Giovanni Santiago, 6-1, So., G (8.8 points, 2 assists, 2.6 rebounds). Justyn Hamilton, 6-11, Sr., F (8.2 points, 6.4 rebounds, 1.3 blocks). Andrew Garcia, 6-5, GS, G (8.6 points, 3.9 rebounds). Tervell Beck, 6-7, Sr., F (6.7 points, 2.8 rebounds)

This article originally appeared on Record-Courier: Kent State defeated Miami in Thursday's MAC Tournament quarterfinals