Kent State men's basketball team completes perfect run in Australia
Kent State’s men’s basketball team finished its tour of Australia with a third consecutive lopsided exhibition victory on Thursday.
The Golden Flashes defeated the Ipswich Force 97-51, earning their third straight triumph by over 40 points. Sophomore guard Jalen Sullinger led a balanced Kent State offense with 14 points, while senior forward Chris Payton recorded a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds.
“Good overall team effort,” said KSU head coach Rob Senderoff. “We were much better on the glass. We have had a lot of different guys play well in stretches.”
Junior forward VonCameron Davis started strong for the second straight game. After scoring the first 11 points in Tuesday’s win over the Brisbane Capitals, Davis scored six points in the first quarter to help the Flashes jump out to a 31-14 lead. He wound up with nine points in the first half as Kent State built a 56-25 cushion heading into the intermission.
The Flashes’ lead reached 40 at 78-38 by the end of the third quarter, which featured dunks by Payton and senior forward Miryne Thomas.
Kent State decided to rest reigning Mid-American Conference Player of the Year Sincere Carry, after the senior guard led the team in scoring in each of the first two exhibition games. Fellow senior guard Malique Jacobs returned to action on Thursday after missing the previous contest due to a hard fall he sustained following a dunk in the first exhibition game.
The Flashes were able to conduct 10 full team practices leading up to the 10-day Australia trip.
“The 10 practices and three games really help our staff get a head start on what we need to work on moving forward. It’s been a great trip for all of those reasons,” said Senderoff. “Now we need to get back to Ohio and really start to work on the things we will need to have success this upcoming year.”
This article originally appeared on Record-Courier: Kent State routs third consecutive foe in Australia
