Mid-American Conference Notebook
by Adam Trumble
The scenario — overtime in Cleveland’s Gund Arena when Antonio Gates scores more than 20 points.
It spelled trouble for Boston College Saturday as Kent State defeated the Eagles 86-83 in overtime in the Balance Bar Rock-N-Roll Shootout.
Gates a senior forward, scored a career-high 32 points as Kent State improved to 7-1 on the season. He gave the Golden Flashes an 84-83 lead, scoring on a putback with 28.1 seconds to play in overtime.
Following a Boston College timeout, with 17 seconds remaining, freshman point guard DeAndre Haynes came up with a steal on an inbound pass and passed to junior guard Eric Haut who was fouled. Haut made the first but missed the second. Haut scored all 22 of his points after halftime and converted 10-of-11 free throw attempts.
Kent State shot 50 percent for the contest, the eighth consecutive game the Flashes have achieved the feat. They are currently ranked second nationally in field goal percentage.
The win in Gund Arena is Kent State’s eighth straight including the 2001 and 2002 Mid-American Conference tournaments and the 2001 and 2002 Rock-N-Roll Shootouts. Not to mention the Flashes are a combined 12-4 when Gates scores more than 20 points. This was the fifth straight overtime victory for the Flashes.
Falcons Rock-N-Roll to a victory
Not to be outdone by intrastate rival Kent State, sophomore forward John Reimold scored 24 points to lead Bowling Green to a 80-72 victory over Cleveland State in the other game of the Balance Bar Rock-N-Roll Shootout.
Cleveland State jumped out to a 26-16 lead but the Falcons tied the score with a 10-0 run in the first half. Cleveland State ended up pulling out to a 31-26 halftime lead. Reimold scored seven consecutive points to open the second half and give the Falcons a 33-31 lead. BGSU pulled away throughout the half, but the Vikings used an 11-4 run to close to 63-57, but that would be as close as the Vikings would get.
The Falcons used solid free throw shooting to ice the game converting 10 free throws in the final 43 seconds. Reimold went 11-for-11 from the line and the Falcons shot 29-for-34 from the line overall.
Zips come back to win
Akron’s guard tandem of Derrick Tarver and John Hollingsworth scored 25 and 18 points respectively, as Akron’s used a second-half comeback to defeat Hampton 84-79.
Hampton opend the game with a 7-0 run and took a 43-34 lead into halftime. Hampton even extended its lead to 14 points at the start of the second half before the Zips started to chip away starting a Tarver layup. Hollingsworth tied the score at 56 with 11:19 remaining on a free throw.
Akron took a 64-63 lead with 8:23 remaining and led the rest of the way. Akron was outshot by the Pirates but held the line at the charity stripe, making 30 shots to Hampton’s 14.
Andy Hipsher added 14 points and grabbed 10 rebounds for the Zips.
Other MAC teams fall
Eastern Michigan became the first MAC team to fall to the University of Michigan after a 85-57 blowout by the Wolverines. Eastern Michigan then dropped a game to Navy (89-81) to close out the week.
Ohio lost at Wisconsin 75-51 as the East Division favored Bobcats continue to struggle. Central Michigan dropped its second game of the season on the road at Valparaiso 65-51 Monday, snapping the Chippewas five-game winning streak.
St. Bonaventure defeated its second MAC team (Kent State being the first) of the season, pounding Toledo 94-68. Marshall lost at U-Mass 81-58. Head Coach Charlie Coles and his Miami RedHawks’ struggles continued in a 66-54 loss to Cincinnati, dropping Miami to 3-6.
Northern Illinois joined the group of losers from the MAC when the Huskies scored just 16 second half points in a 77-45 loss to Illinois-Chicago.
Hoopville’s Mid-American Conference Player of the Week
Kent State senior forward Antonio Gates. Gates scored a career high 32 points in a 86-83 victory over Boston College.
