A feverish Kent State (19-7) rally in the final nine minutes wasn't quite enough in an 80-73 loss to College of Charleston (17-11) in a Sears BracketBuster contest Saturday night at in the Memorial Athletic and Convocation Center. The Golden Flashes had their second game winning streak stopped despite using an 18-1 run that brought the margin to within two points in the final four minutes after trailing by 19 points with nine minutes to go.
Former All-American and current San Diego Chargers All-Pro tight end Antonio Gates and others from the team that produced the best record in Mid-American Conference (MAC) history were in attendance and honored at halftime. Kent State is now 1-2 all-time against Charleston. The last time they met was the final game in Gates’ historic career and resulted in a 71-66 win by the Cougars at the Center in the 2003 National Invitation Tournament (NIT).
Kent State was 6-3 all-time in BracketBuster games and one of only 11 programs to have been part of the event since its inception for in 2003. The game has been selected for a 6 p.m. broadcast on SportsTime Ohio.
The Kent State Golden Flashes are the two-time defending MAC regular season champions. The team is led by first-year head coach Rob Senderoff.
Rally Towels were given away before the game, and halftime entertainment included a Series Shootout for a chance to win $10,000.
For ticket information, call the Kent State Athletics Ticket Office at 330-672-2244.
For more information about Kent State Athletics, visit www.kentstatesports.com.