The Kent State Tuscarawas men's basketball team left no doubt in the minds of the faithful packed into Founders Hall gym, that they are much improved and more athletic as they dominated from the start in a 132-74 win over Ohio University Zanesville. Gunnar Tharp (Canton South HS / East Canton, OH) went over the 1000-point milestone for his career early in the game and finished as one of five Golden Eagles in double figures with 14 points. Tharp is a sophomore majoring in both criminology and justice studies and sociology. 

In 2017-2018, Tharp earned Honorable Mention All-American honors from the United States Collegiate Athletic Association (USCAA). He also led the Golden Eagles in total points and finished third nationally in the USCAA with 568 points, was second in three-point shots made with 133, ranked fourth in free throw percentage at 85.9 and was 11th in scoring average with 19.6 points per game.

The Golden Eagles opened up a 65-32 halftime lead and were led in scoring by Lindon (LJ) Williams (Winston-Salem Prep / Winston-Salem, NC) , a sophomore transfer, with 22 points, Trevor Donaldson (Garaway HS / Dover, OH) was perfect from behind the three-point arc sinking seven shots for 21 points, Luke Butcher (West Branch HS / Beloit, OH) added 13 and Malik Campbell (Canton South HS / Canton, OH) had 11. All 14 Kent State Tuscarawas players scored.

From the floor the Golden Eagles shot 58% for the game and made 21 threes. They also grabbed 42 rebounds, had 33 assists and added 12 steals.