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The MAC tournament ends the only way it could, that’s with the 2nd seed Akron Zips taking on their arch rival and the surprise of the tournament, 8th seed Kent State Golden Flashes who look to repeat as champions.
Despite Kent States best efforts against their formidable foes they fell to the Akron Zips to a score of 62 to 61 at the last second. Akron who was one of the best teams in the MAC all year punched their ticket to the big dance as they await to see who they will play on selection Sunday.
Kent State jumped off to a hot start due to physical style of play from VonCameron Davis, he fought his way to the hoop for a quick two then hit a three for an early lead. Leads were easy to come by for both squads but merely impossible to maintain.
Both squads battled back and fourth for the entirety of the first half, Ali Ali and Enrique Freeman led the way for the Zips. Ali hit a few big threes to snatch the lead from the Flashes while Freeman dominated the paint putting the Kent big men in foul trouble.
Kent on the other hand depended on Davis to punish defenders in the post and for Sullinger to to fire beyond the three point line and create for others on the floor. This Flash attack kept the Zips on their toes while their defensive efforts led by Junior swing man Mike Bekelja kept Akron at bay.
While the Flashes held steady on defense the Zips proved to be too much at the end of the first half. The Roo’s stormed back from being down to earn a multiple bucket lead going into half time. As good as the Zips played, the lead only stood for so long before the Flashes chipped away at the deficit.
The second half was full of emotions as this neutral crowd swung back and fourth expressing the importance of this great rivalry game. The noise only intensified through out the game as the scales leaned towards Akron so did the fans.
The last two minutes of play put the entire stadium into a frenzy. Both teams exchanged the lead as missed free throws opened the door for Kent due to missed free throws. A put back dunk game Kent State the lead. A mystery foul from Kent while up with 5 seconds left sent Tribble to line where he sank both shots.
Sullinger had one last chance for his Flashes to pull off the upset, his off-balance shot went long as the time expired and the confetti rained down on the players below. This was the third time in three MAC tournament that the two have faced off s Akron has won two out of the last three MAC title games.
