Mid-American Conference Tournament live score updates | Kent State plays top seed Toledo

CLEVELAND — MAC Madness starts early for the Kent State men's basketball team on Thursday.

The Golden Flashes tip off quarterfinal action against regular season champion Toledo. The 11 a.m. contest is the first of four games at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.

COLLEGE BASKETBALL: 2024 MAC men's basketball tournament scores, schedule, bracket, TV, livestream info

The eighth-seeded Flashes (15-16) face a huge task in their effort to extend an up-and-down season. Toledo (21-10) won the MAC regular season title during the final week of the season.

Kent State upsets top seed Toledo 67-59

The Flashes have done it. Their biggest win of the season sends them to Friday night's semifinals against Bowling Green or Central Michigan.

For Toledo, the 44-year NCAA Tournament drought continues.

Flashes closing in on victory

The Flashes are almost there. VonCameron Davis' jumper with 2:30 left gives them a 59-51 lead.

With 26 points and 11 rebounds, Davis has been huge today.

Here come the Rockets

Toledo trails 46-39 with 7:44 left. The Rockets will go to the free throw line after this media timeout.

Toledo is on a 7-2 run. Kent State has missed six of its last seven shots.

Mike Bekelja pushes Flashes ahead 40-29

Mike Bekelja has hit two 3s in the second half. The second one off a Giovanni Santiago assist has the Flashes up 40-29 with 14:31 left. It's their biggest lead of the game.

Dante Maddox Jr. answers for Rockets

A Mike Bekelja 3-pointer gave the Flashes their biggest lead at 35-26. They also had a chance to increase their advantage to double digits.

Dante Maddox Jr. responded with a 3 to cut Kent State's lead to 35-29.

Flashes lead 28-24 at halftime

So far, so good for Kent State.

A 7-2 run to end the first half has the Flashes on top at halftime. Kent State has led most of the way and took its biggest lead (28-22) near the end of the half.

VonCameron Davis has 12 points on 6 of 8 shooting to lead the Flashes. He also has grabbed six rebounds.

Will 50 points be enough?

Thanks to a 5-0 run, Toledo has regained a 22-21 lead with 3:26 left in the first half. The Rockets are gaining a little momentum after a cold start.

Kent State takes early lead

With nothing really to lose, the Flashes have made the most of their early opportunities. A 13-3 run has given them 15-10 lead with 10:31 left in the first half.

Kent State is shooting 58% from the field. VonCameron Davis already has 10 points.

This article originally appeared on The Repository: Kent State basketball live score updates vs Toledo in MAC Tournament