Central Michigan Chippewas at Kent State Golden Flashes
· MAC MEN'S TOURNAMENT PRES. BY VISITMYRTLEBEACH.COM - 1st ROUND
106 - 116
Kent State holds off Central Michigan 116-106 in MAC opener
The sixth-seeded Golden Flashes (19-13) advance to play No. 3 seed Buffalo (17-14) in Thursday's quarterfinal.
Marcus Keene's 3-pointer put the Chippewas up 94-91 in OT, but Avery hit back-to-back 3s amid a 12-4 run and the Golden Flashes led 103-98. Central Michigan closed to 103-101 on another Keene 3, but Avery again replied with a 3-pointer and Kent State pulled ahead 111-104 on his free throw with 41 seconds left. Avery sealed it with four free throws in the final 25 seconds.
Jaylin Walker scored 29 with a career-best 14 boards, Deon Edwin added 17 points, and Mitch Peterson had 10 for the Golden Flashes, who trailed 53-40 at halftime and led 91-88 with 1:17 left in regulation before Braylon Rayson tied it with a 3.
Keene scored 41 points with nine 3-pointers and Rayson scored 32 with five 3-pointers for the No. 11 seed Chippewas (16-16).
It was Keene's seventh 40-point game of the season.
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Recent Plays
| 3rd 0:14 | Marcus Keene made Layup. | 106 - 116 |
| 3rd 0:19 | Jalen Avery made Free Throw. | 104 - 116 |
| 3rd 0:19 | Jalen Avery made Free Throw. | 104 - 115 |
| 3rd 0:19 | Foul on Marcus Keene. | 104 - 114 |
| 3rd 0:21 | Deon Edwin Steal. | 104 - 114 |
Statistics
 CMU |
 KENT |
|
|---|---|---|
| 36-77 | FG | 40-85 |
| 47 | Field Goal % | 47 |
| 18-37 | 3PT | 16-31 |
| 49 | Three Point % | 52 |
| 16-17 | FT | 20-27 |
| 94 | Free Throw % | 74 |
| 32 | Rebounds | 48 |
| 8 | Offensive Rebounds | 20 |
| 24 | Defensive Rebounds | 28 |
| 11 | Assists | 20 |
| 3 | Steals | 5 |
| 1 | Blocks | 3 |
| 11 | Turnovers | 6 |
| 0 | Team Turnovers | 1 |
| 11 | Total Turnovers | 6 |
| 0 | Technical Fouls | 1 |
| 0 | Total Technical Fouls | 1 |
| 0 | Flagrant Fouls | 0 |
| 7 | Points Off Turnovers | 17 |
| 0 | Fast Break Points | 0 |
| 0 | Points in Paint | 0 |
| 22 | Fouls | 15 |
| 17 | Largest Lead | 12 |
Game Information
Location: Kent, OH
Attendance: 2,139 | Capacity:
2025-26 Mid-American Conference Standings
| TEAM | CONF | GB | OVER |
|---|---|---|---|
| Miami (OH) | 18-0 | - | 32-2 |
| Akron | 17-1 | 1 | 29-6 |
| Kent State | 14-4 | 4 | 24-10 |
| Toledo | 11-7 | 7 | 19-15 |
| Bowling Green | 9-9 | 9 | 18-14 |
| Ohio | 9-9 | 9 | 15-17 |
| Buffalo | 7-11 | 11 | 17-15 |
| Massachusetts | 7-11 | 11 | 17-16 |
| Ball State | 7-11 | 11 | 12-19 |
| Central Michigan | 6-12 | 12 | 10-21 |
| Western Michigan | 4-14 | 14 | 10-21 |
| Eastern Michigan | 4-14 | 14 | 10-21 |
| Northern Illinois | 4-14 | 10 | 9-21 |