TOLEDO, Ohio – Sophomores
Javan Simmons and
Sonny Wilson each scored 19 points, but the Toledo men's basketball team couldn't slow down a hot-shooting Kent State squad in an 83-64 loss to the Golden Flashes on Tuesday evening in Savage Arena.
"I thought we got our tails kicked from start to finish," Head Coach
Tod Kowalczyk said. "Kent State was a team that was shooting 22% from three in league play coming into the game and they were 9-for-11 from three at halftime. They put us on our heels. That's not like us. I thought this team had found a consistency and we obviously lost that tonight. We will learn a lot about ourselves the next two days with a rivalry game coming up on Friday at BG."
Kent State shot 56.6% from the field, including a scorching season-best 63.2% (12-of-19) from behind the three-point arc. Toledo posted a respectable 46.9 shooting mark but was just 2-of-10 from three-point range.
Junior Cian Medley scored a season-high 22 points and dished out seven assists for the Golden Flashes. Senior Von Cameron Davis also scored 19 points.
"Cian Medley had missed his 12 three-point shots before the Miami game on Saturday," Kowalczyk said. "Give him credit. He was the best player on the floor tonight. VonCameron Davis was right there with him. We had no answer for either of them even when we tried to change the matchups."
Simmons also grabbed a team-high seven rebounds for the Rockets, while fifth-year senior
Isaiah Adams dished out a team-high five assists.
HOW IT HAPPENED
FIRST HALF
- Kent State jumped out to an early 9-2 lead at the first media timeout thanks to a pair of buckets from Cian Medley.
- After Toledo trimmed the lead to 16-10 on Sonny Wilson's layup, the Golden Flashes went on a 12-5 run to extend their lead to 28-15 with 7:29 remaining in the half.
- Seth Hubbard's three-point play and Javan Simmons' layup brought UT within 28-20 and forced KSU to take a timeout 40 seconds later.
- Kent State's Marquis Barnett hit a three-pointer to beat the halftime buzzer and give KSU its largest lead of the half, 44-30.
- Kent State shot 9-11 (81.8%) from behind the arc and 17-27 (63.0%) from the floor in the opening 20 minutes.
- Cian Medley led KSU with 14 points, including 4-of-4 from three-point range. Jalen Sullinger added nine points and was 3-of-4 from behind the arc.
- Toledo shot 11-25 (44.0%) from the floor and a perfect 7-7 from the free-throw line.
- Hubbard led Toledo with eight first-half points.
SECOND HALF
- Toledo opened the second half with a 10-4 run, sparked by eight points by Simmons to reduce the Golden Flashes' lead to 48-40 at the 15:28 mark.
- Kent State responded with an 11-2 run though to extend its lead to 59-42 with 12:20 to play.
- Simmons hit a pair of free throws to cut the lead to 64-50 at the 7:26 mark, but Toledo could not come any closer.
UP NEXT
The Rockets will visit arch-rival Bowling Green (7-11, 2-4 MAC) on Friday, Jan. 24. The contest vs. the Falcons will tip off at 6:00 p.m. and be televised live on the CBS Sports Network.
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