Redhawks fall at Kent State

KENT, Ohio - Miami University's men's basketball team dropped an 87-70 decision at Kent State on Wednesday evening. Junior guard Allen Roberts paced the RedHawks with 16 points, while freshman guard Geovonie McKnight recorded a career-high 12 points and junior forward Will Felder chipped in 10.

The RedHawks fall to 8-15 overall and 3-8 in Mid-American Conference play. The Golden Flashes improve to 14-11 overall and 5-6 in MAC action.

Sophomore guard Will Sullivan drained a 3-pointer at the 19:41 mark of the first half to put the RedHawks up 3-0, but the Golden Flashes scored six unanswered points and never looked back. Kent State extended its lead to 10 at the 9:33 mark, 27-17. Aided by five points from junior guard Josh Sewell, Miami closed the gap to four points, 30-26, with 6:00 to go in the opening half.

The Golden Flashes went on an 18-6 flurry over the final minutes of the first stanza to take a 48-32 lead into the half. Four of the RedHawks' six points came in the final 1:01 as Roberts tossed in a layup with just over a minute to play and junior center Drew McGhee chipped in a layup as time expired to cut the RedHawk deficit to 16 points.

Kent State pushed its lead to 19 early in the second half until a 5-0 spurt off a pair of Roberts free throws and a triple from Roberts shrunk the gap to 14 points with 13:52 to go, 58-44. The Golden Flashes led by as many as 25 in the second half and cruised to the 17-point win.

KSU's Chris Evans led all players with 22 points, 13 rebounds and four steals, while four other Golden Flashes scored in double figures.

Miami returns to action Saturday, Feb. 16 when the RedHawks host Buffalo in the second game of a women's and men's basketball doubleheader. Tip-off is scheduled for 3:30 p.m. and has been moved back a half an hour for television. The game will be aired state-wide on Time Warner Cable SportsChannel.