HUNTINGTON, W.Va. - Bryan Bedford scored 17 points and Kent State beat Marshall 63-61 Tuesday night to claim first place in the Mid-American Conference's East Division.

Marshall trailed 62-61 in the final seconds and had a chance to win, but the Thundering Herd had trouble setting up their offense. Ronny Dawn misfired on a 3-point attempt from about 40 feet with less than a second remaining.

Eric Haut scored 15 for the Golden Flashes (9-2, 3-0), who have won four straight.

The Thundering Herd trailed 62-57 with 1:26 left but made it a one-point game on free throws by A.W. Hamilton and David Anderson.

Marvin Black had 13 points and 10 rebounds for Marshall. Anderson scored 12 and Ardo Armpalu had 10 points for the Herd (5-5, 2-1), which lost a 53-47 lead during Kent State's late 15-4 run.

Kent State made eight 3-pointers in the first half and finished with 13 - three shy of a school record set against Marshall two years ago.

Kent State has beaten Marshall in nine of the teams' last 10 meetings.