Mid-American Conference teams from Ohio had to settle for a 1-1 split on Monday night, as the Kent State Golden Flashes beat the Louisiana-Lafayette Rajin' Cajuns 75-67 while the Akron Zips fell to the West Virginia Mountaineers 77-56.
Junior guard Randal Holt and senior guard Michael Porrini led Kent State with 15 points each, and Porrini added five rebounds, six assists and three steals to help push the Golden Flashes to a 3-1 record. Kent State made 10-16 three-pointers and the team rallied after allowing a 15-2 run that saw their lead turn into a 50-45 deficit with 12:02 in regulation. Kent State faces Morehead State on Thursday at home.
Meanwhile, Akron had no such luck in falling to West Virginia, who improved to 4-1. Coincidentally, West Virginia's only loss this season came at the hands of Kent State, when they lost 70-60 on Nov. 15.
Nick Harney (12 points) and Zeke Marshall (10 points) were the only Zips to hit double figures on a tough offensive evening in Morgantown for Akron, who only totaled 20 points in the first half and trailed 43-20 at the break. Even though they outscored West Virginia 36-34 in the second half, they could not recover from such a slow start.
Akron, 3-3, will aim to get back on track when they face the Middle Tennessee State Blue Raiders on Dec. 4.