The Golden Flashes scorched the nets from behind the arc to lift their record to 7-1 on the season.
KENT, Ohio -- A little rest for the legs helps the jump shot a lot.
Kent State proved that last night as the Golden Flashes scorched the nets from behind the arc to earn a 69-53 victory over Louisiana-Monroe Thursday night to lift their record to 7-1 on the season.
The going gets much tougher now as Kent travels for road games at Alabama-Birmingham and Florida before returning home for an equally tough game against South Florida from the Big East.
One big positive Thursday was with six days rest, the Golden Flashes were 10-of-21 from behind the arc for a team that shot just 28.7 percent on threes entering the game.
Junior guard Carlton Guyton paced the outside attack with 17 points, going 5-of-7 on 3-pointers, including two in the opening half that helped Kent build a 30-19 lead at the break. This opened the inside for leading scorer Justin Greene, who also finished with 17 points, making seven of the eight shots.
A 16-5 run in the second half, anchored by five straight points from freshman Eric Gaines, gave Kent a 50-35 cushion.
The 6-4 Guyton, however, was the catalyst as he also had seven rebounds and a pair of assists to snap out of a recent slump. After going 5-of-5 from long distance in the second game of the season, he missed 18 of his next 23 shot before snapping out of it against the Warhawks.
"I was playing mind games with myself," Guyton said of the slump. "I was in the gym every night trying to get it back."
For Monroe coach Keith Richard, the eruption left him scratching his head.
"Obviously, Guyton had a big night," Richard said. "I don't know if he's that good of a shooter, or if he was so wide open he was playing horse."
But there was more to Kent's victory. Freshman Robert Johnson, a 6-6 forward from Bedford, had his best all-around game to date with five points, three assists and three steals in 17 minutes off the bench. Gaines was also strong with seven points, including a high-flying dunk that seemed to jump-start the Golden Flashes early.
"Eric attacks," Kent coach Geno Ford said. "He's fearless. When he goes to the rim it's at a high rate of speed."
Now it's time to see if Kent can take its act on the road.
Allowing the Warhawks, who were without their best player, to shoot 46.9 percent from the field, and keep pace with KSU on the boards, 28-28, is proof the hard edge and defensive tenacity that traditionally separates KSU from the opposition is not there yet.
"It's time to find out where we are," Ford said. "UAB is very good. Hopefully we've learned from winning. We'll find out Sunday."