KENT STATE 67, OHIO 61
MRO STAFF REPORT
CLEVELAND, OH -- Junior guard Xavier Castaneda erupted for 26 points to lead No. 4 seed Akron past top-seeded Toledo Friday in MAC Championship tourney action at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse.
It was the seventh straight victory for UA, which advances to Saturday's title game (7:30 p.m ET - ESPN2). Toledo, which won its second-straight regular season championship before starting tournament play, also entered Friday's semifinal with six straight wins. The last was a narrow 70-68 win over Buffalo in Thursday quarterfinal play. While they escaped that contest, the Rockets could not get past Akron.
The Zips never trailed and built a 12-point advantage (30-18) with 5:48 left in the first half. Enrique's Freeman's layup at 1:19 put UA in front by 15 (38-23) before UT scored the stanza's final five points on a pair of Ryan Rollins buckets.
Toledo chipped away after intermission and pulled within one (48-47) on a JT Shumate triple at 11:12. However, Ali Ali scored on a 3-point play at the other end to kick off an 11-4 run for Akron. Ali contributed the first five points and Castaneda knocked down two triples for the final six.
A final Toledo push brought the Rockets with two (61-59) following Shumate's layup at 2:52, but UT managed just three more points -- all free throws -- after that.
Joining Castaneda in double figures for Akron were Ali (13), Freeman (12) and Greg Tribble (10). Toledo was led by Ryan Rollins' 18 points. Ra'Heim Moss registered 13, followed by Shumate's 12 and 11 more from RayJ Dennis.
Overall, Akron had just one more field goal (25-24). However, it went 8 of 23 on treys, while Toledo dropped in 4 of 15 from long distance. A bigger issue for UT was the free throw line. Toledo hit just 10 of 22 charity tosses (45.5%). Akron went 12 of 15 at the stripe.
MRO STAFF REPORT
CLEVELAND, OH -- Can anybody stop the Golden Flashes?
Kent State (23-9, 16-4 MAC) registered its 14th straight win and moved into Saturday's MAC Championship Tournament finals with a 67-61 win over Ohio (24-9, 14-6 MAC) Friday at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse. The Golden Flashes will meet rival Akron for the tourney title and an automatic spot in the upcoming NCAA tournament. UA, a No. 4 seed, upset regular season champ Toledo in Friday's other semifinal contest.
Malique Jacobs led Kent State, hitting 9 of 13 shots from the floor while posting a double double of 19 points and 10 rebounds. MAC Player of the Year Sincere Carry scored 16 points and Tervell Beck also reached double figures with 10.
Ben Vander Plas paced Ohio with 20 points, hitting 6 of 9 from the floor and 7 of 10 free throws. Joining Vander Plas in double figures were Mark Sears (18) and Jason Carter (10).
Overall, the winning Flashes shot 45.6 percent from the floor, with seven more field goals (26-19) and two more treys (8-6). Ohio got to the line 24 times and made 15 free throws, while KSU hit 9 of 13 at the stripe.
Kent State scored the game's first seven points, but the 'Cats then reeled off eight straight. By the 6:37 mark, KSU had moved out to a 10 point lead (25-15). The Flashes took a 31-23 to the locker room.
After Kent State built a 14 point advantage midway through the second stanza, Ohio went on a 23-11 run to pull within two at 58-56 following a Sears jumper at 2:56. After a Bobcat time out, Jacobs scored two baskets sandwiched around an Ohio turnover. Each team scored five points down the stretch, leaving KSU with its 67-61 victory and a trip to the finals.