by It was the 167th edition of the Wagon Wheel rivalry, this time coming from Akron, Ohio. As the MAC leading Akron Zips came in 14-0 at home, 22-6 overall with a conference record of 14-1, while the Kent State Golden Flashes come in with an overall record of 19-9, and are 9-6 in the conference.
It would be all about junior Tavari Johnson, scoring 10 of his 16 points in the second half helping lead the way for Akron. You also cannot forget about Nate Johnson who was the only other Zip to score in double digits with 14 points while putting up a double-double as well.
Kent State was led by senior Jalen Sullinger with 19 points, and senior Marquis Barnett with 14 points. They also had three other players scoring 9 or more points.
The first four minutes was a great preview of how this game was going to go. Lock down defense by both teams, and any shots made would be hard to come by. The Zips started off on a hot 7-2 run, before Kent State cut that lead down to 7-5 by the first media timeout.
The Golden Flashes then went on a 6-5 run of their own to get a 13-12 lead at the under-12 media timeout of the first half. This game was clearly going to be very physical and tight from the start.
But the hot start for Kent State would continue as they grew their lead to as many as ten, holding a 26-16 lead with 8:06 left to play in the half. Most of this was thanks to 7 Akron turnovers up to this point.
If you thought Kent State would run away with this game, you must have forgotten that this is one of the most underrated rivalries in all of College Basketball. Akron went on a 10-2 run to cut the Kent State lead down to just two.
But Kent State answered right back with a 11-6 run of their own. This one gave would put Kent back up nine with a 39-32 lead as halftime quickly came along.
The Golden Flashes surprising first half would come thanks to winning the rebounding and turnover battle. It also did not hurt that Kent State dominated inside the paint, outscoring Akron 28-14 in that area.
The Akron Zips came out of halftime with a sense of urgency. Outscoring Kent 9-5 through the first 4:25, Akron trailed just 41-44 come the first media timeout of the second half. The Zips came out shooting 43% while holding the Flashes to just 25%.
With the sold-out home crowd behind them, the energy would keep going for the Zips. Akron was out-rebounding Kent State 12-5 to start the second half.
That would help the Zips finally regain their first lead since early in the game at 52-51. With 11:57 left to play and 3 lead changes in the second half, it was setting up to be a great finish inside the JAR.
It would not be long though until the Flashes got back to doing what they were in the first half. Rebounding and scoring inside the paint would be the key tonight. With a 11-2 run by Kent State, they had a lead back up to 62-54.
As many say, basketball is a game of runs. As this game was a perfect example of that. Akron went on a whopping 14-5 run to regain the momentum and the lead, at 68-67. With just 3:14 left in the game, it looked like it could go either way.
With that being said, it would be the Akron Zips getting the momentum down the stretch in front of their home crowd. After a two-hand slam by junior Amani Lyles, the Zips would take a 75-70 lead with 1:23 left in the game.
Kent State had chances down the very final stretch. The Flashes trailed by just three with 27 seconds left, but had to play the foul game as they were out of timeouts.
Flashes point guard Sullinger had a great look to keep Kent State going the final 14 seconds, but Akron recovered the rebound which would essentially end the hops for Kent tonight.
The Akron Zips were able to hold onto win with a final score of 77-72. It would be a tale of two halves with Akron outscoring Kent 45-33 in the second half.
This one will be one to remember for the Zips and their fans, now holding a 85-82 edge in the all-time series.
On top of that, the Zips have also clinched the MAC regular season title. The win puts Akron at 23-6 on the season, and 15-1 in the conference. While the loss drops Kent State to 19-10 on the season and a record of 9-7 in the MAC.
