Deon J. Edwin and the Kent State Golden Flashes held off a late Northern Illinois run to win 75-74 at the M.A.C. Center on Tuesday February 9, 2016 and are now 7-4 in Mid America Conference play. Photo: Provided

The former Bayside Blazers player, Edwin played 21 minutes, went 4 for 10 from field goal range, 0 for 3 from 3 point range and 1 for 1 from the free throw line. He added 2 assists to his 4 steals and also made 4 rebounds. Photo: VINO/File

ROAD TOWN, Tortola, VI – Deon J. Edwin and the Kent State Golden Flashes held off a late Northern Illinois run to win 75-74 at the M.A.C. Center on Tuesday February 9, 2016 and are now 7-4 in Mid America Conference play.

Khaliq Spicer led a balanced scoring effort with 17 points, as four starters reached double-figures. Jimmy Hall and Kellon Thomas contributed 11 points each and Edwin rounded out the starting unit with 9 points. Edwin provided great energy on defense and matched his career-high with four steals in just 21 minutes.

"It was a great win for us," said head coach Rob Senderoff. "We needed it, and they obviously needed it too. I'm proud of these guys for finding a way to get this one done. The defense in the first half was great. That's what kept us in the game, and then in the second half we started to score. We obviously could have closed the game out better. Some days I might be upset about, but not today."

The former Bayside Blazers player, Edwin played 21 minutes, went 4 for 10 from field goal range, 0 for 3 from 3 point range and 1 for 1 from the free throw line. He added 2 assists to his 4 steals and also made 4 rebounds.

The Flashes trailed 28-26 at the break after a sloppy first half that saw them shoot 10-for-30 (33.33 percent) from the field and commit 11 turnovers that ld to 15 NIU points. The Huskies also struggled to put the ball in the basket during the opening 20 minutes, shooting just 8-for-22 (36.4 percent), but converted 12-of-14 at the foul line compared to just 4-of-8 for the Flashes.

Kent State looked like a new team on the offensive end of the court when it returned to the floor, scoring on the first six possessions as part of a 17-5 run that saw the Flashes take a 43-33 lead. Cancer opened the scoring with a three-point field goal. Edwin then finished over an NIU defender on a drive into the lane and Spicer got a putback. Hall and Spicer scored in the lane and Hall split a pair of free throws before NIU finally got a stop just before the first media timeout. 

For the half, the Flashes shot 16-for-28 from the field (57.1 percent) and committed just two turnovers en route to 49 points, which is the second-most in a half versus a Division I opponent this season.