Greg Tribble hit two free throws with four seconds remaining to lift Akron over Kent State 62-61 Saturday in the Mid-American Conference Championship game.
In edging its arch-rival, No. 3 seeded Akron (24-10, 13-5 MAC) earned an automatic bid to the upcoming NCAA tournament. Kent State, a No. 8 seed, who started the tournament with a win over top-seeded Toledo, fell to 17-17 (8-10 MAC).
Akron won both regular season meetings, but Kent State . . .
Down by seven (59-52) following an Ali Ali layup with 3:31 to play, the Flashes chipped away. The teams were locked at 59-all with 1:47 left before Enrique Freeman hit one of two free throws for Akron at 1:22.
Neither team scored again until KSU's Cli'ron Hornbeak slammed a dunk home with just five seconds left. That put the Flashes up 61-60, but as UA started up court, Julius Robbins reached out and grabbed Tribble's arm for a foul. Tribble hit both ends of his free throws, putting the Zips back in front. Jalen Sullinger's off balance shot under pressure was off the mark, sealing Akron's championship win.
Ali led Akron with 18 points, followed by Enrique Freeman's 17 (with 9 rebounds) and 11 by Nate Johnson.
Kent State's VonCameron Davis led all scorers, hitting 8 of 16 from the field on the way to 21 points. Sullinger was the Flashes only other double figure scorer, adding 19 points. He contributed three of KSU's four treys.
Kent State, which had a 16-2 advantage on points off turnovers, owned four more field goals overall. However, Akron made four more treys and hit 12 of 16 free throws. KSU was 7 of 11 at the stripe.