Mon Feb 13 2012
CLEVELAND — Top-seeded Kent State University (23-8) met Ohio University (18-14) in the quarterfinals of the Mid-American Conference men’s tournament at Quicken Loans Arena on Thursday night. Sad to say, it was a disaster. The Bobcats won 81-64 and made it look easy.
The Flashes entered the game in a daze. They were not ready to play.
Ohio, on the other hand, was on the mark. The Bobcats’ two guards, Armon Bassett and Tommy Freeman, buried Kent State from the start, hitting four 3-pointers in a row.
The Bobcats finished the first half making 5-of-10 from 3-point range along with 10 other field goals, good for a 40-24 halftime lead.
Bassett had a career night, scoring 38 points. The Bobcats hit 50 percent of their shots and 84 percent of their foul shots.
“It was a disappointing end to a great year,” said Kent State coach Geno Ford. “We weren’t very good. I think our kids tried too hard. Once the game started, we played tight.
“The coaches tried to calm the kids down but we failed. We won 13 of our last 15 ball games, and those we lost we were handled like today. Ohio picked a good night to have their best game.”
Kent State did not hit a bucket other than a layup until the 3:39 mark of the first half when Rodriquez Sherman nailed a 15-foot jumper. To compound the troubles in the first half, the Flashes were a terrible 7-of-13 from the foul line, missing their first five tries.
Add in allowing Ohio to control the boards, 24-16, and you have a dismal effort.
The Flashes are a team that relies on the jump shot. They were 3-of-20 from the 3-point line, and while they took 19 more shots than Ohio, the Bobcats buried them at the foul line 27-13.
Was it believing their own press clippings? Not according to KSU senior guard Chris Singletary.
“We wanted it so bad, we played tight,” said Singletary. “Our six seniors knew this was it. The harder we played, the worse it got. It was just terrible.”
Now the team has an opportunity to prove its regular-season MAC championship was no fluke. The Flashes already have an invitation to play in the National Invitation Tournament. They should get a home game considering their high RPI ranking of nearly 50.
Champions come forth and losers go home. The NIT will be a unique chance to avenge the awful exhibition they gave against Ohio.
The kids took one on the chin. So did the coaching staff.
Let’s see if it was a KO or just a hard punch.
Singletary added that the team loves Ford, and the players know he loves them. They want desperately to earn the respect of their fans by getting to Madison Square Garden for the semifinals of the NIT.
I sincerely hope so. I was embarrassed watching Thursday’s loss. So were many fans.
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