The University of Akron Athletics
Akron Surges Past Kent State, 61-54
March 10 | Men's Basketball
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CLEVELAND - A strong second-half effort and 19
points from Jeremiah Wood lifted the
University of Akron men's basketball team to a 61-54 victory over
Kent State in front of 13,029 fans in the semifinals of the
FirstEngery Mid-American Conference Tournament on Friday at Quicken
Loans Arena.
With the win Akron advances to the MAC title game for the first
time in school history and completes the three-game series sweep of
cross-town rival Kent State for the season. UA also improves to
26-6 overall - tying for the most wins in school history and most
in the Division I era.
Wood (Akron, Ohio/Central-Hower HS) finished 6-of-9 from the floor
- including a 7-for-8 effort at the free throw line - to go along
with eight rebounds and four assists. Nick Dials (New Haven,
Ohio/Willard HS/Ohio St.) added 12 points, hitting 4-of-6 triple
tries on the night. Dru Joyce (Akron, Ohio/St.
Vincent-St. Mary HS) scored 11 points and Romeo Travis (Akron,
Ohio/St. Vincent-St. Mary HS) added 10 of his own to round out the
double-figure scorers for Akron. Cedrick Middleton (Chicago
Heights, Ill./Marian Catholic HS/Brewster Academy [N.H.]) recorded
a career-high eight rebounds to go along with nine points.
Down 14 at the break, the Zips started the second half with a 9-1
spurt to cut the deficit to 34-28 with just over 17 minutes to
play. Dials nailed his second triple in the first five minutes of
the half to increase the UA run to 13-3 and get the Zips within
36-32.
The Zips claimed their first lead of the game since the 17:40 mark
of the first half (5-2) as Wood deposited a jump hook in the lane -
putting Akron on top 42-40 with just over 10 minutes to play and
never trailed again.
Roles were reversed to start the second half as KSU went without a
field goal from the 1:44 mark of first half until 14:16 when Chris
Singletary scored inside. The Flashes also went on another
scoreless drought from 12:35 to 4:52, which stopped UA's 14-0
run.
Omni Smith cashed in two charity tosses to get the Flashes within
six, 52-46, with 2:12 on the clock. A stick-back layup by Haminn
Quaintance made it 57-52 with 23 seconds to go, but KSU couldn't
close the gap any further.
Both teams came out rather cold from the floor to start the first
half, but the Flashes' offense eventually picked up as they went
into the locker room leading 33-19. Akron shot a season-low for any
half, converting just 26.1 percent (6-of-23) of its attempts -
including a 1-for-9 effort from behind the arc.
Wood knotted the game at 11 at the 10:15 mark - connecting off of
the glass inside for two of his six first-half points. From there
Akron made just two field goals for the remainder of the half.
Kent opened up a five-point advantage, 22-17, with 6:01 on the
clock as Mike Scott converted an old fashion 3-point play. The
Flashes continued their offensive outburst as they extended the
lead to 31-17 with 2:07 left on the first-half clock.
UA went over four minutes without a point as Middleton nailed a
jumper with 6:17 on the clock, but the Zips didn't score another
point until Travis connected on a pair of free throws at the 1:51
mark. The Zips' offensive struggles continued as they were tagged
with a shot clock violation in the final minute and were unable to
trigger a shot before the first-half buzzer.
For the game, Akron shot a season-low 37.5 percent (15-of-40), but
a strong defensive effort limited Kent to just 35.2 percent
(19-of-54). UA also benefited from 16 points off of 12 KSU
miscues.
The MAC crown and a berth to the NCAA Tournament will be on the
line when Akron takes on Miami tomorrow at 7 p.m. EST. The RedHawks
defeated Toledo 58-53 in the other semifinal game earlier today.
The Championship game will air live on ESPN2.
