Akron 65, Cleveland State 53

like that,’’ YSU coach Jerry Slocum said.

Senior center Bobby Hain finished with a game-high 20 points for the Penguins (0-1). Junior forward Matt Donlan added 15 points.

Donlan drained back-toback 3-pointers with just over five minutes remaining in the second half to shave Kent’s lead to 65-63. The Golden Flashes had pulled ahead by as many as 13 points in the second half.

Kent had pulled back ahead, 70-63, when a free throw by YSU’s Sidney Umude and a 3-pointer Cameron Morse again gave the Penguins a glimmer of hope at 70-67.

A pair of free throws by Pollard with 1:08 remaining triggered the 7-0 run that proved decisive.

“There were a ton of things we could have done better, but it’s always important to win that first game,” Kent coach Rob Senderoff said.

The Golden Flashes raced to a 12-4 lead in the opening minutes and managed to hold the Penguins at arm’s length through the final 16 minutes of the first half. Their leads ranged from five to 11 points.

Kent shot 50 percent from the field in the half, cashing in 17 of 34 fielders. Ortiz and Thomas each scored nine points as the Golden Flashes took a 40-33 lead into the locker room.

Donlan paced YSU with nine points in the first half. The Penguins shot 41.4 percent from the field in the first half and 40 percent for the game.

Kent cooled off in the second half, shooting 35.5 percent from the field. The Golden Flashes’ domination of the boards was reflected in a 38-20 advantage in points in the paint.

Cleveland State coach Gary Waters went into this season worried that scoring, or lack thereof, would be his team’s major issue.

He also was banking on defensive pressure to help keep his young team in games until they establish some sort of offensive continuity.

The Vikings did, indeed, labor offensively in the first half against a good Akron team in the nightcap of the Coaches vs. Cancer doubleheader at the M.A.C Center.

CSU played much better in the second half of what ended as a 65-53 loss to the Zips, preseason favorites in the Mid-American Conference East.

Junior guard Andre Yates finished with a game-high 13 points for the Vikings (0-1), who also got 11 points and a team-high eight rebounds from junior forward Demonte Flannigan (Villa Angela-St. Joseph).

Sophomore guard Antino Jackson topped Akron (1-0) with 13 points.