Edwin & Kent State win Season Opener
The Golden Flashes held a slim 72-67 lead when Thomas picked a pass by Youngstown State's Francisco Santiago out of the air, drove to the basket, flipped in a layup and drew a foul for a three-point play that all but sealed the victory.
Chris Ortiz finished with 12 points and a career-high 16 rebounds, including two tip-out rebounds down the stretch to help hold off the Penguins. His tip on the defensive rebound started a fast break that led to a Deon J. Edwin layup. Less than a minute later, he tipped out a missed free throw to give the Flashes, who had watched a 13-point lead get whittled down to just two points, a key extra possession.
Edwin, who played nine minutes, finished with 7 points on two from five field goal attempts and by going three from four with free throw attempts. He missed two attempted three pointers, but picked off five rebounds (one offensively and four defensively).
Xavier Pollard added 15 points, four rebounds and three steals off of the bench in his Kent State debut. The senior transfer from the University of Maine played a key role in attacking the gaps in Youngstown State's 2-3 zone, creating scoring opportunities for himself and teammates like Hall and Khaliq Spicer.
The 34 combined rebounds by Kent State's starting center and forwards helped the Golden Flashes to a commanding 53-34 rebounding advantage and an 18-9 difference in second-chance points. The Flashes also out-scored the Penguins 38-20 in the paint.
Nine of the 11 players who saw action for Kent State reached the scoring column as the Flashes bench outscored YSU's 27-19.
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