GAME NOTES: The Kent State Golden Flashes are the hosts of the inaugural Men Against Breast Cancer Classic, and will take on the Southern Illinois Salukis in the first round of the round-robin Friday at the Memorial Athletic and Convocation Center.

Southern Illinois is 1-1 on the season so far, losing its season-opening contest to Saint Louis by a mere three points, and then rebounding to defeat Tennessee State, 84-67, on Tuesday. The Salukis won't play a home game in Carbondale until Nov. 29.

Kent State is off to a hot start with two consecutive wins over Youngstown State and Malone University. The Golden Flashes beat the Penguins by eight points to open the season, and then took down Malone by a 62-52 margin at home on Tuesday.

The Salukis lead the all-time series over Kent State, 2-0. Both contests took place during the 2005 season, when SIU won the BracketBusters clash at Kent State following a 58-51 Southern Illinois win in Carbondale just a few months prior.

After losing their season opener to Saint Louis, an NCAA Tournament team from a season ago, the Salukis were seeking revenge against Tennessee State in their second contest. And a little payback is just what they got. Anthony Beane unloaded on the Tigers, netting 32 points on 9-of-12 shooting in the game, connecting on all five of his 3-point attempts. Sean O'Brien contributed 15 points and nine rebounds in the win, while Jordan Caroline and Jalen Pendleton added another 11 points. Southern Illinois shot a brilliant 31- of-39 from the free-throw line in the contest, and connected on 57.1 percent of its shot tries in the first half to take a commanding 46-26 lead into the intermission.

The 32-point outburst for Beane moved him way up the list of scorers on the season for the Salukis, who in two games played are averaging 71.5 ppg. Beane tops the team with a 23.0 ppg average, followed by O'Brien's mark of 15.0 ppg. The forward O'Brien is leading SIU through two games with a 10.5 ppg average, adding two blocked shots to his season stat line. Pendleton, who averages 8.5 ppg in two contests, is shooting 60 percent from the floor - a team high. Defensively, the Salukis are keeping opponents to a 64.5 ppg mark.

Kent State utilized a powerful game in the low post and a deep bench to down Malone in the team's most recent outing. Although the Golden Flashes shot poorly in the contest (32.1 percent) including from 3-point distance (15.8 percent), the team was able to overcome a 30-22 halftime deficit to Malone with a 40-point second-half performance. Jimmy Hall led the team with a double- double that consisted of 18 points and 16 rebounds, along with four blocked shots and a steal. Derek Jackson, one of the several returning players from last season's Kent State squad, notched nine points and four steals in the win.

Through two games, Hall leads the Golden Flashes with a 16.0 ppg average and a 10.5 rpg mark. The big man is connecting on 70.6 percent of his shot tries from the floor, with five blocked shots. Kris Brewer, who finished the 2013-14 season as one of the better scorers on the Kent State roster, averages 10.0 ppg this season. Devareaux Manley isn't far off the double-digit scoring pace, averaging 9.5 ppg in two games of coming off the bench. Though the team is averaging just 65.5 ppg, the defense for the Golden Flashes has been strong, limiting opponents to 56.5 ppg and 38.1 percent shooting from the field.

It seems Kent State is still trying to pull things together offensively, considering the team was trailing a sub-division opponent by eight points at the intermission in the team's last outing. Southern Illinois dropped a tight contest to a strong Saint Louis team, and heading into this tournament, the Salukis will be looking to build on a strong offensive performance against Tennessee State.