KENT, OHIO – Junior Antonio Williams connected on a jumper from the right wing with 1:01 remaining in regulation to give the Kent State Golden Flashes a 68-65 win over arch rival Akron Tuesday night before a near sellout crowd of 6,168 at the MAC Center.
The victory was Kent State’s (22-9, 11-7 MAC) third in the last four games, earning KSU the fourth and final bye into the quarter finals of the 2019 Mid-American Conference Men’s Basketball Tournament Thursday at Cleveland’s Quicken Loans Arena.
Kent State will face the winner of Central Michigan on Thursday afternoon.
“It was an unbelieveable game, KSU head coach Rob Senderoff said. "The way we won this game, we showed a lot of heart and toughness.”
STEPPING UP
Junior Phillip Whittington led the Flashes with a career high 21 points, hitting 8-of-9 from the field while adding six rebounds. It was the second consecutive game he has scored in double digits after failing to get 10 or more points in three previous games.
When asked about Whittington’s performance, Willams said, “He means a lot to us. He was just helping us out a lot tonight.”
Williams added 18 points with six rebounds while playing all 40 minutes. Senior Jalen Avery also scored 18 with three rebounds and an assist.
Williams had six boards and seven assists while Avery, playing his final home game in Blue and Gold, hit four 3-pointers and was a perfect four-of-four from the free throw line.
UNFRIENDLY ROAD
Akron (16-15, 8-10 MAC), absorbed its third in the last four games and finished the regular season with just one road win on the campaign -- that being at Ohio on February 2, 65-53.
“It was a hard fought game.” Zips head coach John Groce said. “both teams battled.
The Zips will face Miami at home in the first round on Monday night, with that winner facing top-seeded Buffalo in the first game of the quarterfinals at noon on Thursday.
Junior Daniel Utomi led all scorers in the contest with 22 points, going 6-of-11 from beyond the arc. Senior Jimond Ivey had 12 wth four rebounds and five assists.
TRADING EARLY LEADS
Both teams had the lead at the start before the Zips went on a 10-0 run to take a 15-8 lead on a driving layup by Tyler Cheese. It was a lead the visitors would have for the remainder of the half
UA’s lead grew to seven 23-16 at the 5;11 mark on a three from the left arc by Channel Banks. KSU kept battling back go regain the lead 28-27 on a three from the right arc by Williams.
After Whittington added a free throw to provide a 29-27 lead, Utomi with a three from the left corner to give the visitors a 30-29 lead at halftime.
The second half began with UA opening a four-point lead, 39-25, on a driving layup by sophomore Loren Cristen Jackson, who finished the contest with eight points. His Friday work followed a career-high 31 points and eight rebounds Ialso a career mark) in the Zips win Tuesday night over Bowling Green.
When asked about the sophomore transfer from Long Beach State, Groce said, “He just did not have the look like he did on Tuesday night against the Falcons.’
Over the second 20 minutes, UA had as much as a four point lead while KSU best advantage was five.
FINAL AKRON EDGE
Akron’s final lead of the game was 50-47 with 9:07 remaining after Utomi hit a trifecta of triples, the last coming from the top of the key. He finished the second half with 16 points.
Kent State never trailed from that point on, altough the Zips did tie the score 59-59 when Ivey tallied on a put-back of a missed shot. However they would not get the lead.
Williams scored KSU’s last nine points of the contest, starting with an and-one free throw at the 2:45 mark.
GUARD DUO SHINES
“I thought Williams and Avery were the best two guards in the game tonight. They were really, really good at both ends of the court.” Groce said. “Their impact on the game was enormous.”
In the final seconds, Avery missed a shot, but freshman Anthony got a key offensive rebound. After he also missed his shot, the ball was tipped by junior C.J. Williamson out to center court.
There was a rugby scrum at the time line. Williams shot the ball and was fouled by Deng Riak giving him three free throws with 1.6 seconds remaining.
The native of Chicago hit two of the three foul shots giving KSU its winning margin and a split of their regular season series after losing to UA at Rhodes Arena on February 8, 72-53
NOTES:
>> One major factor in the matchup was the absence of KSU senior Jaylin Walker. The MAC's leading scorer (21.9 points per game) was suspended for Friday's contest.
When asked about the suspension, Senderoff did not want to comment about it and said he will speak to the senior during the week. His status for the tournament is in question.
>> Among team stats, the Zips shot 40.4 percent for the game from the field (23-of-57). In the second half, however, they went 13-of-27 from the floor. In addition, for the game they were a perfect 10-of-10 from the line. It just did not add up to a victory.
>> KSU finished the game at 39.1 percent from the floor (25-of-64). It won the battle of the boards 36-31, including a 16-4 edge on the glass in the final 13 minutes. In addition, the Flashes had 15 points off just 10 UA turnovers and had a decisive edge inside, 42-34.
“They got way too many offensive rebounds at the end of the game.” Groce said.