CLEVELAND, OHIO--The fourth-seeded Kent State Golden Flashes squeaked out a victory over the eighth-seeded Buffalo Bulls 70-68. The Golden Flashes will play top-seed Akron at 6:30 Friday. The Golden Flashes improved to 20-12 on the season.
Chris Evans took over the game for Kent State in the second half, finishing the game with 25 points, 19 in the second half, and 15 rebounds-his fifth double-double in eight games. With the Golden Flashes up 68-66 with five seconds to go, Evans connected on two free throws to put the game out of reach.
Kent State shot 17-23 from the free throw line.
It was a sluggish start for the Bulls as they missed their first 10 3-pointers, but with 7:00 to go in the first half, Tony Watson hit the first of three straight threes for the Bulls to spark a 14-2 run to put Buffalo up 29-21 with 4:21 to go.
The Golden Flashes responded with a 9-3 run to cut it to 32-30 at the half. During that run,
Randal Holt converted 4-5 free throws.
Tony Watson brought in 23 points and 11 rebounds for the Bulls, who dropped to 14-20 on the year.
Javon McCrea and Will Regan both scored in double-figures. McCrea had 20 and Regan had 14.
Kent State advances to the semifinals where they will meet No. 1 Akron on Friday at 6:30 p.m.
