Kent State Advances In NIT, Akron Falls In CBI

Senior Chris Singletary (Chicago, Ill./Florida Prep) led KSU with another all around performance recording 16 points, seven assists and six rebounds. A redshirt junior, Sherman added 15 points while senior Anthony Simpson (Rockford Ill./Highland CC) chipped in 13 points and eight rebounds.

After falling behind early, the Golden Flashes went on a 7-0 run to take a three-point lead, 10-7. Singletary led the charge with two points, two assists and a steal during the run. The teams would go back and forth before Tulsa went on an 8-0 run in just under three minutes to take a 23-17 lead. The Golden Hurricane would maintain the advantage and grab a 35-28 lead at the break.

Tulsa would continue to hold the advantage until halfway through the second half when senior guard Tyree Evans (Richmond, Va./Motlow CC [Tenn.]) sparked an 8-0 run by himself with two threes as Kent State took a 62-58 lead. Evans would finish the night with 10 points on 4-8 shooting.

"Tyree was great, he really got us going," said Kent State Head Coach Geno Ford. "We were in trouble when he got hot. The first three he made when it touched every part of the rim and after it went in he kind of smiled and relaxed. I think it got everyone on our team going."

After Tulsa tied the game, the two teams would go back-and-forth over the final 5:27 with neither team taking more than a one-point lead. The lead would change hands seven times before Sherman hit the game winner. The redshirt junior drove the lane and put up an off-balanced floater that found nothing but nylon over three defenders including one of the nation's leading shot blockers, Jerome Jordan, to win the game.

Tulsa would have one more shot to win the game, but Ben Uzoh's fadeaway jumper clanked off the iron as time expired.

Rounding out the double digit scorers for Kent State were freshman Randal Holt (Bedford, Ohio / Glenville), who total 11 points and sophomore Justin Greene (Brooklyn, N.Y./Lincoln) who added 10 points and seven rebounds. The Golden Flashes shot 43.3 percent for the game, including a 53.3 percent showing in the second half.

Jordan paced Tulsa with 23 points and 12 rebounds, while Justin Hurtt had 22 points and 10 rebounds in the loss. The Golden Hurricane shot 44.1 percent for the game.

With the win, KSU advances to face Illinois. The game will be on Monday night at 8:00 pm (Eastern) at Illinois and televised on ESPNU.

Chris McKnight led the Zips with 21 points and nine rebounds, while his brother, Brett McKnight, had eight boards. Roberts also reached double figures with 14 points, while Conyers chipped in with 10.

Green Bay guard Troy Cotton, who made nine 3-pointers (on 16 attempts) on his way to a career-high 36 points, gave the Phoenix the lead, 58-57, with his eighth triple of the evening with 2:23 remaining. UA tied the score on a free throw by Conyers, but Green Bay retook the lead on three free throws by Cotton with 1:40 remaining, setting up the dramatic final minute-plus of action.

UA charged out of the locker room in the second half, scoring the first five points on a 3-pointer by Darryl Roberts and a layup by Steve McNees to extend the lead to six points, 29-23. Moments later, Roberts drained another long ball to push the lead to seven, 32-25.

The Phoenix countered with a 12-5 run to tie the score again at 37-all with 11:13 remaining in the second half. Pat Nelson knotted the game up for the Phoenix on a tip-in of a miss by Cotton. Throughout the middle portion of the second frame, the score remained close, with the Zips finally gaining some breathing room courtesy of a 10-4 run fueled by seven points by Chris McKnight.

With exactly 4:00 left in the game, Green Bay drew within one point at 54-53 when Cotton converted his seventh 3-pointer. UA fired back with a 3-pointer of its own from Conyers to push its lead back to four points heading into the final media timeout of regulation.

The Zips were on-point behind the arc, making 11-of-25 from 3-point range (tying a season high in makes). Chris McKnight led the way from distance, making 3-of-4 long-distance attempts.

As with the Zips' three Mid-American Conference Tournament games last week, the contest was close throughout the first half. The two teams traded baskets and leads throughout the opening 20 minutes, with neither team able to manage more than a four-point lead. After the Phoenix established a four-point edge (18-14) on a layup by Bryquis Perine with 8:11 remaining in the half, the Zips countered with a deep 3-pointer by McNees from the left wing to close to within one.

The Zips edged into the lead at the 3:55 mark on a layup by Chris McKnight and added to its margin moments later on a turnaround jumper by McKnight. However, the Phoenix countered with a 3-pointer by senior guard Troy Cotton to tie the score at 21-all.

The Zips matched their biggest lead of the half - three points - on a 3-pointer by Chris McKnight with 59 seconds left and maintained a one-point lead, 24-23, heading into halftime.

The score was indicative of the pace of the first half, as the teams combined for just two fast-break points and played at a deliberate, methodic pace. The half-court style of play also resulted in just three free throws in the opening stanza, all attempted by the Zips, who converted 2-of-3 from the charity stripe. In total, there were six ties and five lead changes in the half.

UA missed a chance to extend its halftime lead when a 12-foot jumper from the left baseline by Brett McKnight rimmed out as the half came to a close. Chris McKnight lead UA in scoring in the first half with 12 points, making him the only player for either team in double figures after 20 minutes of play. The next highest scorer for the Zips was senior guard Jimmy Conyers, who posted six points in the half.

The game marked UA's third-straight postseason appearnace and fourth in the past five seasons, including last season's NCAA Tournament berth and NIT appearances in 2006 and 2008.