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Jonathan Edwards scored a career-high 21 points and DeAndre Haynes added 14 to lead Kent State to a 74-46 win in the Rock-N-Roll Shootout over St. Bonaventure, which suspended star guard Marques Green on Saturday.
Bonnies first-year coach Anthony Solomon suspended Green for violating an unspecified team policy.
Green is the Bonnies' leading scorer, averaging 22.3 points per game. But Solomon apparently wanted to show he will quickly address problems as he tries to rebuild St. Bonaventure's scandal-ridden program.
Without the senior, the Bonnies (4-6) couldn't match the Golden Flashes (6-2), who after a slow start, bounced back nicely following an overtime loss at Boston College last week.
St. Bonaventure had no chance of stopping Edwards, a 7-foot senior center who has made huge improvements in his game on both ends of the floor.
Edwards showed
nice foot skills while making several short baseline jumpers and hook shots.
He broke his previous career scoring-high -- 20 versus Akron last season --
with a resounding two-handed dunk with 8:27 left that put the Golden Flashes
ahead 62-39.
Maurice Young scored 14 points and Cortez Sutton had 12 for St. Bonaventure.
In the second game of the 10th annual Shootout, No. 19 Wisconsin played Ohio.
Kent State quickly increased a 14-point halftime lead as Haynes drained a 3-pointer and Edwards converted a three-point play with 16:39 remaining. Edwards then had his way inside as the Golden Flashes pushed their lead into to the 20s for the final 10 minutes.
Before the game, St. Bonaventure released a statement on Green's situation.
``This is a matter that has been handled maturely by everyone, and it will remain within the structure of the team,'' said Solomon, a three-year assistant at Notre Dame before going to St. Bonaventure in May.
Green, a 5-foot-7 guard, watched from the bench in dress clothes.
St. Bonaventure is coming off a scandalous season in which the Bonnies forfeited two games and were banned from the Atlantic 10 Conference tournament when players boycotted after one of their teammates was declared ineligible.
Kent State was totally out of sync offensively in the first half before Haynes drained two straight 3s and the Golden Flashes made five long-range shots while opening a 39-25 halftime lead.