Sometimes it takes a village.
For the Kent State at Tuscarawas basketball team, it took all five starters scoring in double figures to take down Wright State Lake 93-85 to break a five-game losing skid and dull the edge of the chilly winds off nearby Grand Lake St. Mary's.
The Golden Eagles played with a sense of urgency getting off to a fast start leading 38-35 at the half. Displaying a very balanced attack, seven Navy and Gold players scored in the opening stanza with five of them scoring five points or more.
After intermission, the tandem of Braden Rostad and Andre Leavell wreaked havoc on Laker defenders as they respectively exploded for 18 and 17 second half points. Rostad made seven field goals and rained down four second half three-point bombs, while Leavell sliced to the basket drawing fouls and converted on 7/10 free throws to open up the floor for other KSU Tusc scorers.
For the game, Leavell scored 22 points, Rostad had 18, while Gunnar Tharp and Malik Campbell tossed in 14 points apiece and Jacob Hicks added 12 for the winners.
As a team, the Eagles shook off their recent free throw slump and made 19/27 tosses for 70% and they made nine shots from behind the arc.
With the victory, the Golden Eagles improved to 3-7 while WSU Lake fell to 2-10.
After a week off for finals exams, KSU Tusc will begin a three-game homestand when they host Bluefield State on Tuesday, December 17th. Game time is 5:00 p.m.
Jacob Hicks (34), Braden Rostad (13) and Gunnar Tharp clog up the lane. (Photos by Jason Keller)