In this bracket of teams with 2 losses, it’s a battle of Mid American Conference teams. Ball State has two double digit losses. Kent State lost a squeaker by one point in the first round but got blown out in round 2.
Starting lineups:
Ball State: PG 6-0 Melvin Clark, SG 6-0 Bernard Jackson, SF 6-7 Dwayne Jackson, PF 6-8 Paul Smith, C 6-8 Srecko Lepinat
Kent State: PG 5-8 Michael Deren, SG 6-3 Willie Baker, SF 6-7 Marco Coursey, PF 6-7 Maurice Bruton, C 6-9 Tony Dupree
By controlling the boards and forcing turnovers, Kent State allowed the Cardinals to get away just 5 shots in the first 8 minutes of play. At that point the Golden Flashes led 17-6 and the Kent State fans were making things difficult for Ball State. But the Cardinals made good use of the few shots they took from there on (including hitting 6 of 11 three’s) and cut Kent State’s lead to 3 points with 3-1/2 minutes to go in the first half. But then the Golden Flashes (with their fans going wild) pulled away for a 42-33 halftime lead.
Kent State was +9 in rebounds and +3 in turnovers. Ball State hit 65% of their shots, but the Golden Flashes hit 70% of their FG attempts. For Ball State, O.J. Miller came off the bench to hit all 4 of his shots (including a 3) and scored 9 points in just 7 minutes on the court. PF Maurice Bruton led Kent State with 10 points.
The home court advantage continued to carry Kent State and they extended their lead to 63-47 with 11 minutes to play. Kent State went on to post an easy win.
Final Score: Kent State—82, Ball State—66.
Ball State: PG Melvin Clark-3/3/1, SG Bernard Jackson-13/2/1, SF Dwayne Jackson-11/2/3, PF Paul Smith-8/0/1, C Srecko Lepinat-4/1/5; Bench players: O.J. Miller-9/0/0; Eddie Wheeler-8/3/1.
Cardinals team stats: FG%-58%, 5 of 6 FT’s, 11 of 22 Threes, 15 Reb’s, 18 TO’s, 13 PF’s.
Kent State: PG Michael Deren-3/4/3, SG Willie Baker-20/2/3, SF Marco Coursey-14/1/3, PF Maurice Bruton-18/0/5, C Tony Dupree-8/5/3 (+5 steals); Bench Player: Corey Campbell-7/0/2.
Golden Flashes team stats: FG%-61%, 9 of 14 FT’s, 11 of 22 Threes, 22 Reb’s, 9 TO’s, 8 PF’s.
Player of the Game: Kent State SG Willie Baker-20 pts, 2 assists, 3 reb.