KENT, Ohio- The Kent State men's basketball team started the 2019-20 season off on a high note with four players scoring in double figures for a 97-58 opening-night victory over the Division-III Hiram Terriers at the M.A.C. Center. 

Freshman Kalin Bennett, the first true freshman diagnosed with autism to sign a letter of intent in Division-I men's basketball, made history when he checked into the contest. The Little Rock native doubled down by hitting a hook shot in the lane for his first collegiate bucket.

Bennett finished with two points, two rebounds and a block in his near six minutes of action. He was one of 12 different Flashes to score in what was a balanced scoring effort.

The Flashes had to fend off a feisty Hiram squad in a back-and-forth first half. The Terriers led 30-24 midway through the first half, thanks in part to Sherman Dean III's 17 first-half points, Dean would lead all scorers with 19. But Kent State closed the half on a 16-1 run with five different players contributing to the run and led 40-31 at the half.

Senior Troy Simons, who made his debut  helped put the game out of reach right out of the half-time break. The New Mexico transfer scored nine points in just under 90 seconds and capped the overall Kent State run at 33-4 across both halves.

Simons finished with 17 points and was one of four Flashes in double figures. Sophomore Anthony Roberts led the team with 18 points while seniors Anthony "Booman" Williams added 17 points and four steals. Danny Pippen, playing in his first college game in 17 months, added a double double with 11 points and a game-high 11 rebounds.

Bennett wasn't the only freshman who had a solid debut in the win. Giovanni Santiago added seven points and a game-high 10 assists. Evan Bainbridge added seven points and five rebounds while Jon King added two points, two boards and a block and Sentwali Nalls showed defensive prowess adding a steal.

The Golden Flashes will look to build off the momentum as they head to Baltimore to take on the Towson Tigers on Monday, November 11th. Tip time is set for 7 p.m.
 

KALAMAZOO, Mich. – Powered by two 20-point performances from junior Michael Flowers and freshman B. Artis White, the Western Michigan men's basketball began its 2019-20 campaign with a 75-65 victory over McNeese State inside University Arena on Tuesday night.

The backcourt of Flowers and White combined for 44 of WMU's 75 points against the Cowboys, shooting a combined 10-of-21 (.476) from the field. Flowers led the Broncos with a game-high 24 points to go along with three rebounds, three assists and three steals.

From the free-throw line Flowers was a perfect 10-for-10, marking the 26th Bronco in school history to register a perfect free-throw percentage (min. 10 attempts). It was Flowers' 30th career game scoring in double figures and 13th scoring over 20.

Freshman B. Artis White recorded a stellar debut in the Brown & Gold, posting 20 points on 5-of-11 shooting from the field with four three-pointer's. White was also 6-of-8 from the free-throw line while registering three rebounds.

In his first career start, freshman Titus Wright registered five points and six rebounds in 20 minutes of action. Wright also totaled one assist, one steal while going 3-of-4 from the free-throw line. The freshman duo of White and Wright became the first pair of freshman under head coach Steve Hawkins to start in the regular season opener.

Returning to action after missing last season due to injury, redshirt Brandon Johnson off the bench led WMU with eight rebounds to go along with seven points in 24 minutes of play. Also returning to the court from injury was redshirt sophomore Jason Whitens who poured in two points and six rebounds against McNeese State.

As a team the Broncos recorded just six turnovers on the night and scored 19 points off of 14 McNeese State turnovers. From the field WMU shot 36.2 percent and knocked down 11 three-pointer while going 22-of-28 from the charity stripe.
For the fourth straight season Western Michigan will start 1-0 while increasing its streak to nine straight home opener victories. WMU's next contest will be on the road as the Broncos square off with Milwaukee on Saturday, Nov. 9 at 7:00 p.m.

In the first half the two teams battled back and forth as neither team led by more than two through the first five minutes of the game. WMU held on to an 18-12 lead midway through the first half as the Bronco defense held McNeese State scoreless for nearly five minutes.

Late in the first half, the Bronco offense found its way and embarked on a 12-2 run in just under two minutes to take a 37-21 lead with 3:14 remaining in the half. The run was highlighted by back-to-back three-pointers from senior guard Jared Printy. Both teams caught fire to end the half as McNeese State made their final four field goals while WMU made five of their last seven to take a 42-31 lead in to halftime.

Western Michigan raced out of the gate to begin the second half and after a 6-0 run highlighted by a transition three-pointer from White, WMU held a 52-34 lead with 15:51 left to play. However, McNeese State rallied its way back midway through the second and embarked on a staggering 18-2 run, connecting on seven straight field goals to cut WMU's lead down to 59-55 with 8:20 remaining.

The Cowboys continued their hot shooting and made four straight field goals late in the second half to cut WMU's lead down to 71-65 with 1:45 to play. After a missed shot from the Broncos, McNeese State had a chance to cut the deficit down to four before Brandon Johnson blocked a lay-up attempt off the glass to derail any hopes of a comeback.

Western Michigan secured the game at the free-throw line despite going scoreless from the field the final 2:55 of play for the 75-65 victory.