KENT— Kent State received another reminder Tuesday night.
No matter what their record is, the Golden Flashes still wear a big target on their backs. Other Mid-American Conference men's basketball teams clearly see it.
Toledo brushed aside a painful memory by administering a painful 89-75 loss on Kent State at the MAC Center. A 25-11 surge in the final seven minutes of the first half was enough to give the Rockets a lead that never slipped under 10 points.
The Rockets edged the Flashes by one game for last year's MAC regular season title. They were favored to go to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 1980.
KENT STATE MEN'S BASKETBALL: Kent State Golden Flashes men's basketball: KSU drops another MAC game, this one to Toledo
Kent State's win over Toledo in the MAC Tournament championship game denied the Rockets their elusive NCAA berth. Short-term memories rarely disappear among athletes.
"These guys, they really wanted this game," Flashes head coach Rob Senderoff said of Toledo.
Tuesday was not the only night Kent State has felt like the hunted.
"Teams want to beat us," Senderoff said. "We've seen that from the start of the season from our scrimmage against St. Bonaventure. Last year we scrimmaged them and wiped the floor with them. This year they scrimmaged us and wiped the floor with us and were talking about it.
"When you play here, that's what happens, and we need to respond better. I'm the coach, and if that falls on the staff, we have to do a better job of getting through to our guys. Right now we're not. Our guys also have to do a better job of competing, taking the coaching and holding the rope a little longer."
The loss dropped Kent State to 8-7 overall and 1-2 in the MAC. The Flashes were coming off an overtime defeat to Eastern Michigan, a team that had lost six straight to Kent State.
Three games into the MAC season, the Flashes are two games behind leaders Akron, Toledo and Western Michigan.
"This is my 13th year, and it's not the first time we started 1-2," Senderoff said. "It's not the first time we had a disappointing home loss. It's how do we respond to this.
"I'm looking forward to seeing how we are at practice on Thursday. Are we feeling bad for ourselves? Are we thinking that it's somebody else's fault? ... Are we going to get better or are we not going to get better? My expectation is that we get better, but you don't know how each group responds.
"We've had a championship program for a long time. We've won a lot of games here for a long time. ... We're going to see what this group, this team, is made of and how they respond."
Jalen Sullinger hit three 3-pointers and scored 17 of his game-high 21 points in the second half for the Flashes. Chris Payton Jr. finished with 15 points, six rebounds and three blocks. VonCameron Davis added 14 points.
The 89 points was a season high allowed by the Flashes. Two straight layups in the first 1:10 of the second half that stretched Toledo's lead to 18 forced a quick Kent State timeout.
That summed up the night. The Rockets never slowed down and finished with 19 fast break points.
"The program has been built on a defensive toughness identity," Senderoff said. "That's sorely, sorely lacking right now."
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This article originally appeared on The Repository: Kent State men's basketball team looks for answers after 1-2 MAC start
