Akron Claims First Ever MAC Regular Season Title

KENT, Ohio – The Akron men’s basketball team clinched its first-ever Mid-American Conference regular-season championship with a 61-55 victory over neighborhood rival Kent State on Friday night at M.A.C. Center before a national ESPN2 television audience.

With the win, Akron (21-10, 13-3 MAC) will be the No. 1 seed in next week’s conference tournament to be held at Quicken Loans Arena in downtown Cleveland. The Zips have earned a triple bye to the event’s semifinal round and will play on Friday at 7 p.m. ET.

The victory also gave the Zips one-half point in the PNC Wagon Wheel Challenge standings, in which it now trails the Flashes 5.0-4.0.

Zeke Marshall led Akron with 12 points and seven rebounds, one of four Zips to score in double figures. Chauncey Gilliam also tallied 12 points, while Brian Walsh and Alex Abreu had 10 points each. Abreu also had a game-high five assists and two steals. Walsh managed three takeaways.

Michael Porrini led Kent State (20-10, 10-6 MAC) with 14 points and eight boards.

Down 27-18, Akron came out of the locker room a different team, scoring the first eight points of the second half to cut the deficit to 27-26 and force a KSU timeout (16:40). The Zips kept the pressure on, taking a 30-27 lead into the under-16 media timeout (15:28).  That lead was the first for UA since the 18:21 mark of the first half (4-2).

The Zips pushed the run to 20-2 to start the half, taking a 38-29 lead on a Qunicy Diggs layup with 13:45 to go.  By the 11:15 media timeout, the Zips were up 40-29 and riding a 22-2 run. UA forced six turnovers and shot 69.2 percent from the floor (9-of-13) during the run while committing just two turnovers.

Both teams began to trade point for the point, with Kent State closing the gap to five points (47-42) with 3:47 remaining. Gilliam’s 3-pointer pushed the UA advantage back to eight (50-42) with 3:23 left in the game.

Akron would ice the game at the line, connecting on 7-of-8 over the final 1:12 to capture the MAC title.

With the game tied 6-6 at the 16:36 mark of the first half, Kent State used a 6-0 run to grab a 12-6 advantage by the 15:15 mark. The Zips committed two turnovers that led to two of KSU’s three baskets.

The Akron deficit grew to eight points at 18-10 (11:20) as both teams struggled with ball control.  Through the first 12:37 of the first half, the two squads combined for 15 turnovers (Akron 9, Kent State 6).  

The Zips began to claw their way back into the game, using an 8-0 run to tie the game at 18-18 with 5:07 to go before intermission.  Brett McClanahan ended an 8:23 field goal drought for the Zips at the 6:18 mark before Abreu’s steal and layup tied the game at 18-all.

Kent State would score the half’s final nine points to take a 27-18 advantage into the locker room.  

The Zips closed the half shooting just 29.1 percent from the floor (7-of-24) while committing 14 turnovers.  The Golden Flashes finished the opening 20 minutes shooting 50.0 percent (12-of-14), but were forced into 10 giveaways.

Central Michigan 76, Western Michigan 70

MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. – Trey Zeigler paced Central Michigan with a game-high 22 points as the Chippewas downed Western Michigan, 76-70, to take possession of the Michigan MAC trophy for the second time in three years.

A three-pointer by Austin Richie gave the Broncos (12-19, 6-10 MAC) a 67-60 lead with less than seven minutes remaining, but it was their last field goal of the game as the Chippewas (10-20, 5-11 MAC) responded with a 12-0 run that gave them a 72-67 lead with 1:48 left on the clock.

“I am just really satisfied and pleased with our guys," said head coach Ernie Zeigler. "There were so many times that we could have buckled, especially with how sluggish we started, but our guys were resilient. Even when we got down 67-60 in the second, there was just a great effort and focus in wanting to win this game. This is a great win for us heading into the MAC Tournament.”

The Chippewas dug themselves a 9-0 hole in the first four minutes of the game and found themselves down 15-5, their largest deficit of the contest, at the 13:18 mark.

They fought back late in the period with a 10-3 run to tie the game at 26 with 4:41 left and tied it twice more before going into halftime down three, 36-33.

“It is great to have the best record against the other MAC Michigan schools," Zeigler said. "In our state it is all about competition and while we would have rather been cutting down the nets tonight for a MAC championship, we knew we were playing for something. This was for supremacy in the state. To send our seniors Andre (Coimbra) and Nick (Jordan) out like this was special for us. We hope to build on this as we move forward.”

Zeigler added eight rebounds, a pair of assists and three steals to his seventh 20-point game of the season, while the Chippewas combined for 14 assists and only eight turnovers. Half of the assists came from point guard Austin McBroom, who also contributed 14 points and six rebounds, and Derek Jackson chipped in another 14 points, four assists and three steals. Jackson moved into a tie for fifth place on the Chippewas' single-season steals list (54, Melvin McLaughlin, 1982-83).

Olivier Mbaigoto pulled down a career-high 11 board as Central out-rebounded Western, 40-34.

The Chippewas ended the regular season with wins in two of their last three games and will visit either Bowling Green or Eastern Michigan Monday in the first round of the MAC Tournament.