Kent State, the No. 8 seed, upsets Bowling Green 73-60 in semis, will play for MAC tourney title

Updated: Mar 16, 2024, 12:58 am

CLEVELAND -- — Jalen Sullinger had 22 points as eighth-seeded Kent State pulled off a second-straight upset win at the Mid-American Conference tournament, knocking off fifth-seeded Bowling Green 73-60 on Friday night to earn a berth in the championship game.

Kent State (17-16), which lost to Toledo by 15 points in the regular season finale, upset the top-seeded rockets in the tournament opener to gain the semifinal berth.

Sullinger added five assists for the Golden Flashes. Giovanni Santiago scored 20 points while shooting 6 for 9, including 6 for 8 from beyond the arc and added six assists and three steals. Cli'Ron Hornbeak shot 4 of 8 from the field and 1 for 3 from the line to finish with nine points.

Marcus Hill finished with 22 points and six rebounds for the Falcons (20-13). Rashaun Agee added 15 points and seven rebounds for Bowling Green. Jason Spurgin also had eight points.

Kent State took the lead with 8:16 remaining in the first half and did not relinquish it. The score was 34-28 at halftime, with Sullinger racking up 11 points. Kent State outscored Bowling Green in the second half by seven points, with Santiago scoring a team-high 11 points after halftime.

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.