'Starting to show some character': Kent State pulls away late against Fresno State

KENT — After losing in double overtime Thursday to James Madison, the Kent State men's basketball team leaned on its defense to secure a 79-69 victory over Fresno State on Saturday at the M.A.C. Center

“It was great to see how the team would respond the way we did after Thursday,” Golden Flashes coach Rob Senderoff said. “It says a lot about the character in the locker room. It's great to get another win against a quality opponent.”

In the first half, KSU (2-1) limited the Bulldogs (1-1) to 42% shooting, forcing 15 turnovers that led to 12 points. The Flashes led 31-22 at the break.

“I think that it kind of set the tone for us in the first half,” Flashes junior guard Jalen Sullinger said. “We just have to come back with that same effort throughout the game.”

The reigning Mid-American Conference Sixth Man of the Year, Sullinger led Kent State with 17 points.

“My teammates are putting me in positions to succeed,” he said. “Plus, there’s a lot of confidence right now when I’m shooting the ball.”

Against JMU, Sullinger totaled a career-high 30 points while making seven 3-pointers — tying for third most in program history.

“Him winning the sixth man of the year last year was just a little sample size of what he can do,” junior VonCameron Davis said. “What he is doing now is just all the hard work he has put in, and watching him makes me a proud teammate.”

Davis and sophomore Julius Rollins led Kent State’s reserves with eight points apiece.

“Going out there and playing defense, that's always the first mindset,” Davis said. “The offense is going to come, and just continue to bring tremendous energy off the bench.”

KSU’s bench totaled 23 points — the second time this season it has scored 20 or more points.

In the second half, the Bulldogs shot over 70% from the field because of “jailbreak layups,” Senderoff said.

“We have to clean up our transition defense,” he said. "When you turn it over, it's hard to get back, but we have to try to make plays. It had not been a problem in any of our prior games. But it was a problem tonight. So we'll address that moving forward. Because we have to get better at that.”

With less than 13 minutes remaining in the game, Fresno State cut the KSU lead to 44-41, causing Senderoff to use a timeout.

Kent State responded with a 17-5 scoring run, taking a 61-46 lead with eight minutes left in the game.

“That was big for us there because it did get tight,” Senderoff said. “To me, it speaks to me about the character of the team because, after Thursday night, when you blow that lead, we're starting to show some character, which is what we need to show as a group.”

Sullinger (17), forward Chris Payton (13) and center Cli’Ron Hornbeak (11) each scored in double figures for the Flashes.

As a team, KSU shot 48%, and Fresno State shot 60%.

Senderoff said he has noticed teams want to employ smaller lineups against his team.

“It’s been a theme that we've with teams trying to spread us out and sort of making us pay defensively with our size,” he said. “So we have to keep working and getter better at that, and we have to make sure that we punish teams on the glass.”

The Bulldogs outrebounded the Flashes 30-21.

After opening the season with three consecutive home games, Kent State will have six days off before its next game. The Flashes then will play three games in three days, starting with Hampton University at 6:45 p.m. Friday in the U.S. Virgin Islands Paradise Jam.

The Pirates (1-1) are scoring 94.5 points per game.

“I think that's going to really help us playing multiple games in multiple days,” Senderoff said, “because it forces me to play more guys and give guys opportunities to show they can help the team when we get into conference games.

“The more depth we have, the better it is for our team.”

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Jalen Sullinger leads Kent State over Fresno State in men's basketball