A Chris Singletary-less Kent State squad took Northern Illinois' best bite Tuesday afternoon, but it was a great first half from Al Fisher that helped guide the Golden Flashes to the MAC Quarterfinals.
The reigning MAC Player of the Year scored 25 points, including 20 points in a dominating first half, to lead Kent State to a first round victory over the Northern Illinois Huskies, 64-61. Northern Illinois possessed a 56-48 lead with seven minutes left in the game. With their backs against the wall, the Golden Flashes fought back to extend their season by outscoring the eleventh-seed Huskies 16-5 over the final minutes.
Kent State's victory came without the presence of Chris Singletary. The junior guard was suspended one game by the university for throwing a blatant punch into the abdomen of Akron's Nate Linhart Sunday in Kent State's season finale.
Tuesday's victory sets up a MAC East showdown on Thursday when the sixth-seed Golden Flashes (19-13, 10-6 MAC) take on Buffalo (19-10, 11-5 MAC), seeded third in the tournament. Singletary will be back for Thursday's contest.
The quarterfinal matchup will provide a rubber match scenario at Quicken Loans Arena. At Alumni Arena in January, Buffalo received a balanced scoring attack and a solid defensive effort to knock off the Golden Flashes, 64-53.
Kent State returned the favor less than a week ago when Chris Singletary and company took advantage of a poor free throw shooting effort by Buffalo to knock off the Bulls, 77-71, in overtime. The Bulls shot a disastrous 14-for-27 from the free throw line to drop the contest.
Come Thursday, Buffalo will be looking for revenge. The Bulls completed their regular season Sunday with a come-from-behind, Senior Day victory over Miami (OH) in overtime.
To advance to Friday's semifinal round, the Bulls will need to contain Fisher. The senior point guard averaged 20.5 points a game against Buffalo, including 26 in the January loss. As Al Fisher goes, Kent State goes. A semifinal birth will be in Buffalo's future if the defense can contain Fisher.
The return of Singletary gives Buffalo another defensive challenge. Against Buffalo last Thursday, Singletary shot just 3-for-10 from the field but shot an uncharacteristic 12-for-14 from the free throw line. Singletary shot 62.5 percent from the free throw line during the season so it will be tough for the All-MAC Honorable Mention to have a repeat performance.
It will be tough for either team to take the game over with free throw shooting. Kent State and Buffalo rank 275th and 281st, respectively, in the nation in free throw percentage.
On offense, a balanced Buffalo team must show up in Cleveland. During the Bulls four-game losing streak, junior guard Rodney Pierce put the rest of the team on his shoulders. If Pierce receives no help from his teammates, the Bulls will have a tough time getting by the Golden Flashes.
But if senior guards Greg Gamble and Andy Robinson and junior forward Calvin Betts perform to their abilities, the Bulls will be hard pressed to knock off. In the past three games, the trio has averaged a combined 33.7 points a game. During the four-game losing streak prior to the last three games, the three averaged 16 points a game combined.
This battle may come down to Buffalo's success on the boards. The Bulls out-rebounded their opponents by an average of 5.1 rebounds a game. Against Kent State the Bulls experienced success, out-rebounding the Flashes by 10 in Amherst and by four at Kent State.
Buffalo's quest for it's first-ever MAC Championship starts Thursday at 2:30 p.m. The winner will take on the winner of the Ball State-Central Michigan quarterfinal matchup.
Photo: Breadchastick / Wikimedia Commons
