Men’s basketball defeats Akron for MAC Regular Season Championship
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Before the Kent State men’s basketball game against Akron on Friday, football players paraded around the M.A.C. Center with the coveted Wagon Wheel the home team reclaimed in October.
It received cheers from Kent’s student section and eye rolls from Akron’s.
It must have posed as some inspiration for the players.
Kent State (21-10, 12-4 Mid-American Conference) overcame a 31-27 halftime deficit to crush Akron 79-68. The Flashes clinched their second straight MAC Regular Season Championship.
“It was amazing just to accomplish something like this and see the fight in our team,” said senior guard Rod Sherman. “I love this rivalry — it’s very passionate and emotional.”
Things started off well when junior forward Justin Greene became the 28th player in Kent State history to score 1,000 career points three minutes into the first half.
But Akron’s four 3-pointers and their solid defensive coverage gave the Flashes a 31-27 deficit at the half.
“We knew these last two games would be grind-out games,” Sherman said. “Once you get to the end, everybody wants it and tries really hard.”
Sherman said the team looked a little “trigger happy” in the first half and admitted he was still recovering from his senior recognition before the game.
A self-proclaimed “emotional guy,” Sherman said it was hard to see his mother tearing up during the senior recognition ceremony, but he tried to stay strong and hold back his own tears.
“I thought in the first half, we looked a little too emotional and played a little too hard,” said Geno Ford, Kent State coach. “(In the second half,) we kept trying to space the floor and drive it as much as we could match-up wise.”
The Zips (19-12, 9-7 MAC) continued to lead the first seven minutes of the first half, but junior guard Carlton Guyton turned things around.
“It was a fun half for us to play on offense,” Ford said.
Guyton’s assist to freshman guard Eric Gaines led to the basket and foul shot that put the Flashes in the lead for the first time in the second half with 13:22 to go.
Just one minute later, Guyton sank his own flying dunk.
“Once I did the first cross-over, (my mark) backed off, so I decided to lay it up,” Guyton said. “But I was like, ‘Man, I’m doing pretty hot,’ so I decided to dunk it.”
After that, Guyton sank a layup within that minute for a 46-43 lead. He finished with 16 points.
Greene also contributed with two sets of back-to-back baskets in 30 seconds.
“That’s the best game Justin Greene’s had in a while,” Ford said. “He’s not had his lift lately, so when he smacked the backboard (at ten feet), I thought, ‘Oh, he’s on.’”
The Flashes continued to score on 18 of 20 possessions to maintain the Kent State lead for the rest of the game.
“We had one of those nights,” Ford said. “We were due to do well offensively. It’s been a while since we really had a night where everything clicked offensively.”
Sherman rebuilt the Kent State lead every time Akron got close to tying the score. He finished with 17 points.
With 10 seconds left, Akron’s Quincy Diggs earned a technical foul and a police-escorted-walk out of the M.A.C. Center for arguing with his teammates and the officials.
Greene, who led the team with 18 points, sank both free throws for the 79-68 finale.
“Justin Greene tells me every game: ‘I’m not going to let you go out (with a loss),’” Sherman said. “He played for me, so that really touched my heart.”
Sherman left his last game in the M.A.C. Center as the first Kent State player and first MAC player since 1951 to win three MAC titles in a career.
The team’s MAC regular season championship title marks the first time a Kent State team has ever won back-to-back titles. The repetition has been done only twice in the MAC in 48 years.
Kent State will face the winner of the Buffalo vs. Central Michigan game Thursday to start the Flashes competition in the MAC Tournament.
“For me, it’s great just to win a (regular season) championship,” Guyton said. “I’ve never won anything as a team, so — I’m at a loss for words.”
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Contact Rachel Jones at [email protected].