By Nicholas Huenefeld/Owens Sports Information
Toledo, OH---James Kelly opened the game with back-to-back-to-back dunks as the No. 17 Express men's basketball team cruised to an 88-69 win over Kellogg Community College on the opening night of the Owens Tip Off Classic.
Kelly opened the game with an alley-oop dunk from Justin Edmonds, and then he had back-to-back steals followed by fast break dunks. He followed that with another steal and a fast break lay-in to give the Express an 8-0 lead. All of that came in the game's first 1:30.
Then, after opening a 13-0 lead, the Express had their lead cut to five at 25-20 with 8:13 left in the first half. However, a 22-7 run over the next six minutes broke the game wide open and the Express never trailed by fewer than 15 at any point throughout the duration of the game.
As a team, the Express shot 49.9 percent (34-for-74) from the field. They were led in scoring by Edmonds and Joe Retic II, who each had 16. It was a season-high in points for Retic, who had a team-high four assists, while adding two steals.
Kelly, who ended up only playing 16 minutes due to foul trouble, finished with 14 points, five rebounds, five steals and one assist. Andy Bachman added 14 points, eight rebounds, three steals and two assists.
Franklin Lindsey scored 10 points in 16 minutes off the bench, while Tony Boykins had eight points - including a few key shots in the first half.
Nathan Taylor (15), Quincy Armstrong (13), Dervin Hill (10) and Darius Holman (10) all scored in double figures for Kellogg (1-2) in the loss.
The Express (3-2) will take on Jackson Community College at 8 p.m. tomorrow in the SHAC as part of the Tip Off Classic.