Kent State struggled to figure out Eastern Michigan’s zone defense or slow down talented freshman James Thompson in a 75-70 loss Saturday in Ypsilanti, Mich.
It was the fourth loss in five games for the Golden Flashes, who fell to 16-9 overall and 7-5 in the Mid-American Conference.
KSU put together one of its best overall games in a 73-58 victory when the teams met on Jan. 26. But without injured guards Xavier Pollard and Jaylin Walker, the Flashes couldn’t find the offensive punch needed to counter Thompson and EMU (13-12, 5-7).
The Flashes committed 15 turnovers, nearly all of them coming in the first half when the Eagles jumped out to a 31-23 lead.