AKRON 77, TOLEDO 70
BUFFALO, NY -- Kent State shot 53.5 percent from the field and made 14 of 24 (58.3%) 3-point shots on the way to an 83-52 blowout of Buffalo Friday at Alumni Arena.
Kent State (11-11, 4-6 MAC) took control in the first half and was up 51-22 at intermission. Jalen Sullinger and Giovani Santiaco led the Flashes with 17 points apiece. Voncameron Davis and Chris Payton contributed 10 each.
Isaiah Adams (12 points) and Sy Chatman (12 points) paced Buffalo (2-19, 1-8 MAC). It was the eighth straight loss for UB, whose only wins this season came against Central Michigan in its MAC opener and Roberts Wesleyan on Nov. 28.
AKRON, OH -- Hosting Akron (17-5, 9-1 MAC) limited Toledo (14-8, 8-2 MAC) to 2 of 12 (16.7%) from outside the arc while UA connected on 8 of 23 from long distance on the way to a 77-70 victory that gave the Zips sole possession of first place. The two teams entered Friday's matchup with 8-1 conference marks.
The Zips moved in front at 13:03 of the first period on Shammah Scott's triple and never trailed after that. Akron enjoyed a 47-36 halftime advantage and led 53-40 with 15:16 to go.
Javan Simmons' free throw left Toledo down by three (60-57) at 6:46, but Enrique Freeman and Ali Ali responded with baskets. Akron then managed to hold off UT down the stretch.
Ali scored a game-high 26 points and Freeman recordied a double-double of 20 points and 14 rebounds. He also had four assists and three blocks. Mikal Dawson added 14 points.
All five Toledo starters reached double figures. Raheim Moss led the bunch with 16 points, followed by Simmons (14), Dante Maddox Jr. (14), Sonny Wilson (11) and Tyler Cochran (11).