The Associated Press

Kent State's Nate Gerwig struggles to grab a loose ball. (AP photo) | ZOOM |

KENT - Kent State retired four jersey numbers Monday night. Next year, the school may have to add a fifth.

Antonio Gates scored 24 points and Eric Haut hit three crucial 3-pointers Monday night as Kent State rallied from 19 points down to win their seventh straight, 70-60 over Miami of Ohio.

Gates, the lone starter remaining from last year's NCAA tournament "Elite Eight" team, scored 12 points in a row during one stretch of the second half for the Golden Flashes (16-2, 9-1 Mid-American Conference).

Kent State honored four seniors - Trevor Huffman (24), Andrew Mitchell (12), Eric Thomas (40) and Demetric Shaw (10) - from last year's MAC championship squad by hanging their jersey numbers from the rafters in the M.A.C. Center during an emotional halftime ceremony.

The rest of the evening belonged to the 6-foot-5, 250-pound Gates, who put on a one-man show.

"Hey, Laing," Miami coach Charlie Coles said to Kent State athletic director Laing Kennedy. "Get another jersey up there."

"We're working on it," Kennedy said.

Gates is, too.

Kent State's Eric Haut passes the ball to a teammate as he falls out of bounds near halfcourt. (AP photo) | ZOOM |

With Miami leading 46-35, Gates followed up a miss with a basket. After scoring again, he blocked Johnson's shot inside for a jump ball and then drained a 15-footer to pull Kent State within 46-44.

After hitting two free throws, Gates stole the ball and drove the length of the floor for a layup. He then hit a corner jumper - his 12th straight point - as the Golden Flashes closed within 53-52 with 7:56 to go.

"I think we found out who the best player on that team was last year," Coles said, referring to Gates. "He's so smart, so clever. It's almost not fair."

Juby Johnson scored 21 points and Chet Mason 14 for the RedHawks (9-10, 7-3), who had their five-game winning streak stopped, mostly because they couldn't stop Gates.

"He's strong," Johnson said. "He can dribble, and he made some tough shots tonight."

Haut, who entered the week ranked third nationally in 3-point shooting, made three long-range jumpers in the final 3:41 for Kent, which trailed 32-13 with 8:15 left in the first half.

After Gates took over, Haut, who makes 53 percent of his 3-point tries, then drained a 3-pointer with 7:17 remaining to put Kent ahead 55-53 - its first lead since 3-0.

At that point, an exhausted Gates needed a break and signaled Kent coach Jim Christian to take him out.

"I told him five seconds," Christian joked.

Mason's free throw tied it 57-all, but Haut hit two consecutive 3-pointers to give Kent State a 65-60 lead.

Kent State held Miami to just two field goals - 3-pointers by Tim Schenke - over the final 9:42.

The RedHawks, who shot 54 percent from the floor in the first half, made just 35 percent of their attempts after halftime.

"I thought we played well for 12 minutes," Coles said, "and then it started getting away from us."

Miami	M	FG	Att	FT	Att	R	A	F	TO	TP
Johnson	35	7	11	4	5	3	3	4	3	21
Reed	11	1	1	0	0	0	1	2	0	2
Horace	21	1	5	0	0	6	1	5	1	2
Hausfeld	34	3	8	1	2	1	1	1	2	10
Mason	40	5	15	4	8	9	4	1	4	14
Williams	16	1	1	0	0	0	1	3	2	2
Seals	21	1	3	0	0	2	1	3	0	2
Schenke	22	2	3	1	2	0	1	3	0	7
Totals	200	21	47	10	17	24	13	22	12	60

Team rebounds: 3.

Kent State	M	FG	Att	FT	Att	R	A	F	TO	TP
Gates	39	9	23	6	7	11	3	1	2	24
Gerwig	22	3	3	4	4	2	0	1	1	10
Haut	36	5	10	4	4	2	2	3	4	18
Haynes	27	1	3	2	3	2	6	4	3	4
Wilkins	30	2	7	1	1	7	0	3	1	6
Jakeway	19	1	3	0	0	2	1	0	0	3
Howard	5	0	0	0	0	1	0	1	0	0
Bedford	14	1	2	3	4	5	0	1	0	5
Edwards	8	0	0	0	0	2	0	3	0	0
Totals	200	22	51	20	23	36	12	17	11	70

Team rebounds: 2.

Miami	40	20	-60
Kent State	29	41	-70

3-point goals-Miami 8-22 (Johnson 3-4, Horace 0-1, Hausfeld 3-7, Mason 0-5, Seals 0-2, Schenke 2-3); Kent State 6-17 (Gates 0-1, Haut 4-7, Haynes 0-1, Wilkins 1-6, Jakeway 1-2). Attendance-5,682.

Technical fouls-None.

Officials-Collins, Sauder, Clark.