Kent State Wins 2002 MAC Championship
Feb. 20, 2002
With a little help from Western Michigan, the Kent State Golden Flashes secured their first men's basketball championship in league history Wednesday night. KSU, which had defeated Marshall 116-76, Tuesday night to clinch the East Division title, won it all as the Broncos topped Ball State, 80-65, Wednesday night, eliminating the Cardinals from a possible co-championship.
The Golden Flashes are 14-1 in the MAC and 21-5 overall. They will receive a first round tournament bye and, after closing out the regular season with three more games, open the quarterfinal session at Gund Arena in Cleveland on March 7 at noon. KSU is the defending tournament champion.
In non-conference action, Ohio scored an impressive 86-78 win at the University of North Carolina. The Bobcats built an 18-point second half lead over the Tar Heels and put the game away late with free throws. Steve Esterkamp paced the Ohio attack with 23 points with Brandon Hunter adding 20, Sonny Johnson 19 and Patrick Flomo 12 points. Flomo also had three blocked shots.
In WMU's win over Ball State, Robby Collum led the way with 25 points as the Broncos sprinted to a 50-33 margin at halftime. Lonnie Smith paced the Cardinals with 21 points. BSU falls to 10-5 in the MAC West Division and holds a two-game lead over WMU and Toledo with three games to play.
Ball State can clinch no worse than a West Division co-championship and the tournament's No. 2 seed if the Cardinals win Saturday at home versus Miami and Toledo beats Western Michigan. The Miami at Ball State contest will be aired on Fox Sports Net Ohio at 6 p.m. (ET).
Toledo boosted its chances to host a first round tournament game with a 54-42 win at home over Buffalo. The Rockets trailed at the half 22-17 but rallied for their second consecutive win to keep pace with Western Michigan. Terry Reynolds, last year's MAC Freshman of the Year, tallied 16 points, grabbed nine rebounds and handed out four assists for the victors. UT's Ricardo Thomas had 11 points and nine rebounds. Darcel Williams was the lone Bull in double figures in scoring with 13 points.
In the East Division, Bowling Green stopped Miami, 65-50 in Oxford, to tie Ohio for second place. The Falcons and Bobcats are battling for the No. 3 seed and first round tournament bye. BG received 19 points each from Keith McLeod and Brandon Pardon. The Falcon defense limited the RedHawks to 19 first half points and did not allow anyone to reach double figures in scoring. Juby Johnson's nine counters were the best for Miami, which lost their third in a row to fell to 8-7 in the league.
Central Michigan snapped a four-game losing streak with a 76-57 win over Eastern Michigan. The Chippewas were led by David Webber's 16 points and J.R. Wallace's 15 points and eight rebounds. Chris Kaman added nine points, nine rebounds and three blocked shots. Steve Pettyjohn and Ricky Cottrill each ad 13 points for the Eagles.
Akron stopped Northern Illinois 88-80 as Rashon Brown led all scorers with 30 points, including a perfect 15-of-15 from the free throw line. Andy Hipsher added a double-double for the Zips with 12 points and 10 rebounds. P.J. Smith posted 26 points for the Huskies.
With just three games left in the league race, the standings are as follows:
East Division
Kent State (14-1)
Ohio (10-5)
Bowling Green (10-5)
Miami (8-7)
Buffalo (6-9)
Marshall (6-9)
Akron (5-10)
West Division
Ball State (10-5)
Western Michigan (8-7)
Toledo (8-7)
Northern Illinois (6-9)
Central Michigan (5-10)
Eastern Michigan (2-14)
Saturday's Schedule
Kent State at Ohio, 2:00 - Ohio Sports Network TV
Akron at Bowling Green, 3:30
Miami at Ball State, 6:00 - Fox Sports Net Ohio
Marshall at Buffalo, 7:00
Western Michigan at Toledo, 7:00
Central Michigan at Northern Illinois, 7:05 (CT)
