KENT STATE 70, OHIO 65
It was the third MAC win in four outings for Akron (3-1 MAC, 11-6 overall), while the Eagles fell to 1-3 in MAC play (4-13 overall).
Akron senior guard Xavier Castaneda led all scorers with 23 points. Enrique Freeman narrowly missed a double double with 20 points and nine rebounds in just 20 minutes of action. Trendon Hankerson contributed 14 points, while Sammy Hunter added 13. Greg Tribble and Amani Lyles chipped in 10 apiece for the Zips.
Noah Farrakhan led EMU with 18 points. Tyson Acuff and Legend Geeter recorded 11 each.
The two teams combined to shoot 58 free throws and made 48. Akron held a 44-24 advantage in rebounds.
After jumping out to an early 14-5 lead, the Zips expanded their margin to 20 points (46-26) at the break and cruised to victory behind 58 second half points.
It was the eighth straight win for Kent State (4-0 MAC, 14-3 overall). The Bobcats (1-3, 9-8 overall) lost for the third time in four MAC contests.
Ohio led 31-30 at the half, but KSU moved in front with a 9-0 run early in the second period. After trailing by as many as 12 points midway through the stanza, the 'Cats chipped away. They were within three in the final seconds, but an Ohio trey attempt missed. Kent State then added two free throws for the final margin.
Ohio senior forward Dwight Wilson III led all scorers with 21 points and grabbed nine rebounds. Miles Brown was the only other Bobcat in double figures. He registered 12 points.
Kent State got a balanced scoring effort, with Miryne Thomas and Malique Jacobs registering 17 points apiece. Giovani Santiago and Sincere Carry added 11 each.