CLEVELAND -- Kent State and Ball State battled to the wire in the quarterfinals of the 2018 Mid-American Conference Tournament Thursday afternoon. In the end, the Golden Flashes were able to hold off the Cardinals, 76-73.
Kent State, the No. 5 seed, advanced to the semifinals to face No. 1 seed Buffalo Friday afternoon.
The Golden Flashes (17-16) led throughout most of the contest and twice built a 10-point cushion in the second half. However, Ball State (19-13) clawed its way back to take a 69-67 lead with 2:28 remaining thanks to a Zach Gunn 3-pointer.