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Illinois State ends Kent State's season in first round of NIT
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- Illinois State ends Kent State's season in first round of NIT
The Kent State men's basketball season has come to a crashing halt.
Illinois State built a 20-point halftime lead and rolled to a 79-58 win over the visiting Golden Flashes in the first round of the NIT on Wednesday, March 18. The Redbirds (21-12) hit eight 3-pointers in the first half and 13 in the game to finish off Kent State and earn trip to Wake Forest in the next round.
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Landon Wolf made five 3s and finished with a game-high 24 points for Illinois State. Chase Walker added 19 points on 8-of-11 shooting.
Kent State Golden Flashes guard Rob Whaley Jr. (2) and Akron Zips wing Evan Mahaffey (12) and guard Eric Mahaffey (4) reach for a rebound during the second half of a MAC Tournament semifinal, March 13, 2026, in Cleveland.
The Redbirds were 13 of 35 (37%) from beyond the 3-point arc.
Rob Whaley Jr. scored 13 points and Jahari Williamson added 11 for Kent State. Leading scorer Delrecco Gillespie was held to five points, but grabbed a game-high 15 rebounds.
The Flashes shot just 33% (21 of 64) from the field.
The Flashes (24-10) end their eason by losing back-to-back games for the first time all year. Kent State was eliminated in the MAC Tournament by rival Akron in the semifinals.
Reach Mike at mike.popovich@cantonrep.com
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This article originally appeared on The Repository: Kent State men's basketball score, Flashes lose in first round of NIT
