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'A team full of winners': Akron beats Kent to win MAC men's basketball regular season title
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- 'A team full of winners': Akron beats Kent to win MAC men's basketball regular season title
Junior guards Tavari Johnson and Nate Johnson were the leading scorers once again for the University of Akron men's basketball team Friday night.
Senior guards Shammah Scott and Seth Wilson were also solid along with junior guard Bowen Hardman and junior forward Amani Lyles .
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And then there is senior forward James Okonkwo , an energy guy who grabbed two offensive rebounds and made a layup in a sequence that helped Akron rally to earn a 77-72 win over rival Kent State at Rhodes Arena.
A crowd of 4,967 watched as Akron (23-6, 15-1) beat Kent State (19-10, 9-7) for the second time this season and clinched at least a share of the Mid-American Conference regular-season championship .
"I thought our guys made a lot of plays in the last five minutes of the game," Akron coach John Groce said after receiving a MAC championship trophy and cutting down the nets. "A lot of the older guys, you could tell it meant something to 'em and they kind of willed us to win there the last five minutes or so. I thought the crowd was unbelievable. They were a huge factor. The environment was incredible. The fans were great.
"... Obviously, it's Akron-Kent. Anytime it's Akron-Kent, it's a war, figuratively speaking obviously. But, I mean, anytime you can win a game in the series, any game, it's pretty cool because it's hard to do. They're really good, they're really well coached and they got good players."
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Akron forward Amani Lyles, right, celebrates with teammates after the Zips beat Kent State to win the MAC regular season championship Feb. 28, 2025, in Akron, Ohio.
The spectators also got to see Okonkwo's "alter ego."
"Jimmy came out," said Tavari Johnson, who scored 16 points.
"Yeah, that wasn't James. That was Jimmy," Nate Johnson chimed in. "He showed us the toughness. We got to match his toughness. I mean, that's our enforcer. ... Jimmy is what y'all saw today."
Scott said Okonkwo's putback layup with 11:58 remaining in the second half "sparked a run."
Akron Zips forward James Okonkwo (32) celebrates as the Zips take the lead during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game against the Kent State Golden Flashes at James A. Rhodes Arena on Friday, Feb. 28, 2025, in Akron, Ohio.
"We got in the huddle and then we just knew we had to maintain that same energy and feed off of him and then everybody else do the same thing," Scott said.
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Okonkwo finished with eight points and seven rebounds.
"James is a great guy," Tavari Johnson, Nate Johnson and Scott said in almost unison.
And then Nate Johnson added: "When you see something aggressive happening from Jimmy, basically that's how you know he flipped the switch."
Akron's Nate Johnson (34) shoots over Kent State's Jalen Sullinger (13) during the first half Feb. 28, 2025, in Akron, Ohio.
Akron , the reigning MAC Tournament champion , flipped a switch after trailing Kent State 63-54 with 8:02 remaining in the second half. The Zips ended the game on a 23-9 run.
"We got a team full of winners," Tavari Johnson said. "That's what I feel like today showed. ... It definitely makes it more memorable though for our team to win a championship against our rival. It's definitely something we're going to all remember for the rest of our lives."
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Nate Johnson scored six points during the final run with a layup and four free throws. Tavari Johnson and Scott scored five points apiece during closing surge, Wilson added a 3-pointer, Okonkwo dropped in a layup and Lyles threw down a two-hand slam dunk.
"We are fighters because, boy, we could have just gave up," said Nate Johnson, who totaled 14 points, 10 rebounds, four assists and two steals. "We got a team that perseveres through all the adversity."
Akron Zips guard Shammah Scott (1) is fouled by Kent State Golden Flashes guard Jamal Sumlin (4) during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game at James A. Rhodes Arena on Friday, Feb. 28, 2025, in Akron, Ohio.
Scott had nine points, six rebounds, three steals and two assists.
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"This win shows how resilient we are and how tough we are," Scott said. "We were down double digits in the game [26-16] and we just never got down. We just kept fighting for the rest of the game and got the win.
"... It definitely feels good to knock off one of the goals that we set before the season, but we are trying to achieve something bigger than this, so this is just a stepping stone to what we are trying to get to."
Wilson and Hardman scored eight points apiece. Lyles added seven points, five rebounds, three assists and three blocks.
Akron's Tavari Johnson (5) shoots a layup as Kent State's Cian Medley (11) defends during the first half Feb. 28, 2025, in Akron, Ohio.
"They have a lot of good players, but Nate Johnson made some big plays down the stretch," Kent State coach Rob Senderoff said. "Tavari Johnson made some big baskets down the stretch. Across the board, they have good players and a good team. Lyles, I think made a couple of big plays down the stretch."
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Senior guard Jalen Sullinger scored 19 points for Kent State, who led for 29 minutes and 11 seconds. Senior guard Marquis Barnett had 14 points and seven rebounds.
Flashes junior forward Delrecco Gillespie added 10 points and eight rebounds. Senior center Cli'Ron Hornbeak and senior forward VonCameron Davis scored nine points apiece. Redshirt sophomore guard Jamal Sumlin scored six points and sophomore guard Cian Medley had five points, five assists and five rebounds.
"The way that Barnett, Sumlin and Gillespie had improved between Game 1 and Game 2 was so obvious on the film, and you add their production to what Sullinger and VonCameron Davis give them," Groce said. "Those two guys are two of the better players in our league."
Akron Zips guard Sharron Young (3) and coach John Groce watch Kent State take free throws Friday, Feb. 28, 2025, in Akron, Ohio.
Groce credited Kent State for being "physically tougher" in the first half.
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"The first time we played them we were noncompetitive in the game, and I was certainly disappointed in that [85-71 loss]," Senderoff said. "And you leave that first game wondering if you even are in the same category or same class as them. Tonight, we competed. We're much better today than we were in January, so we competed a whole lot better and gave ourselves a chance to win.
"They're an elite team and they have dominated the league because of how well they're able to win close games, make plays that you need to make. And give them credit — they had guys step up and make those winning plays."
Akron Zips coach John Groce celebrates with his daughter Cate after beating Kent State to win the MAC regular season championship at Rhodes Arena on Feb. 28, 2025, in Akron, Ohio.
Akron won its first MAC regular season title since 2020 .
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"I'm happy for the guys," Groce said. "They accomplished something that they wanted to accomplish. Pretty special, but obviously we got more work to do. They've got other goals as well that they've set and we got to get re-centered and refocused on those."
Michael Beaven can be reached by email at mbeaven@thebeaconjournal.com .
Akron Zips forward Amani Lyles (0) dunks over Kent State Golden Flashes forward VonCameron Davis (1) and forward Delrecco Gillespie (23) during the second half at Rhodes Arena on Feb. 28, 2025, in Akron, Ohio.
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Akron tops Kent State to win MAC men's basketball regular season title
