Posted on by jeffrey9910

It was a battle between the #1 & #2 seeds in the midwest region of the NIT. The first half looked like two very close teams as St Bonaventure headed into the locker room with the one-point 37-36 lead.

Senior guard Corey Rohwer led the Bonnies with 11 points on 4-of-5 shooting while going 3-of-4 from beyond the arc. Rohwer also dished off three assists while getting three steals.

Senior guard Kurtis McCrary led the way for Kent State, scoring nine points on 2-of-3 from both the field and beyond the arc. McCrary also went 3-of-4 from the free-throw line. St Bonaventure shot 51% from the field compared to just 41% for Kent State. But the Golden Flashes shot better beyond the arc, going 3-of-7 for 43% compared to 4-of-12 or 33% for St. Bonaventure.

The second half went better for Kent State as they were able to stretch the lead to as much as 13 points before picking up the 11-point 75-64 win. McCrary scored eight points in the second half to finish the game with 17 points and five rebounds. Senior forward Tom Moss scored 14 points with five rebounds and three assists. Senior forward Renardo Evans and sophomore guard Jimmie Okotie both scored 10 points each. Okotie also grabbed six rebounds with six assists.

Two players for St. Bonaventure scored double-digit points. Corey Rohwer scored only 3 points in the second half after scoring 11 in the first half. Junior forward Gray Sullivan scored 10 points off the bench while grabbing three rebounds.

The final four are set for the NCAA tournament. The #1 seeds of Kentucky and Gonzaga face off in the first game. The #2-seeded Virginia and #3-seeded Xavier face off in the second game.

It was a battle between the two #1 seeds in the final four of the NIT. The first half was back and forth before Stanford stretched it out to a seven-point 42-35 lead at the half.

Freshman forward Jason Johnson and sophomore forward Kevin Boone both scored 11 points to lead Stanford. Johnson also grabbed four rebounds.

Kent State was led by sophomore guard Jimmie Okotie, scoring 11 points on 4-of-9 shooting while grabbing three rebounds. Kent State shot just 40% from the field and 23% from beyond the arc compared to 55% and 37% for Stanford.

The Golden Flashes finally settled down and outscored the Cardinal 56-41 in the second half to pick up the 91-83 win. Okotie continued his strong game in the second half to lead Kent State with 17 points on 6-of-13 shooting while going 2-of-7 from beyond the arc. Senior center Adam Robinson scored 11 points in the second half to finish the game with 16 points and eight rebounds. Senior guard Kurtis McCrary scored 11 points but left the game early with a sprained finger. He’s not expected to miss any time.

Freshman guard Michael Wilcox turned it on in the second half after only scoring two points in the first half. Wilcox would finish the game to lead all Standford players with 18 points on 4-of-7 shooting while going a perfect 7-for-7 from the free throw line. Freshman forward Jason Johnson scored 15 points with five rebounds. Freshman center Al Micheals and sophomore forward Jerome Christie each scored 14 points.

The #1 seed Kent State Golden Flashes now face #7 seeded Middle Tennessee for the NIT championship.