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Mid-American Conference Tournament still a special place for Kent State | Mike Popovich
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- Mid-American Conference Tournament still a special place for Kent State | Mike Popovich
CLEVELAND— March can cure what ails you.
It also can be heartbreaking, especially if you're trying to end a drought spanning multiple generations.
There was no better example of that than what happened in the quarterfinals of the Mid-American Conference Tournament on Thursday. The biggest underdog proved why this tournament can be so cruel to the best of the best.
Kent State's Julius Rollins (0) and guard Giovanni Santiago (11) celebrate after the Golden Flashes upset top seed Toledo in the quarterfinals of the Mid-American Conference Tournament on Thursday in Cleveland.
Kent State upset top seed Toledo 67-59 to extend a season filled with a few head-scratching moments. The Golden Flashes (16-16) were not even guaranteed a spot at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse a week ago. Moments after delivering a dagger to the Rockets' NCAA Tournament hopes, they began preparing for Friday night's semifinal against Bowling Green.
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"During the regular season we fought a lot of adversity and injuries," junior guard Mike Bekelja said. "We didn't play as well as we liked to in some games.
"We always had in the back of our mind, 'We just gotta get to Cleveland.' Now that we're here we just want to capitalize on the opportunity."
Kent State coach Rob Senderoff works the sideline during the quarterfinals of the Mid-American Conference Tournament on March 14, 2024, in Cleveland.
Kent State went to the MAC Tournament under .500 for the first time since the 1997-98 season. No one could argue with the Flashes if they felt stuck in neutral all season. They never won more than three games in a row. They never lost more than three straight.
The MAC Tournament is a special place for this program, though. The Flashes have won it seven times, including last year.
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All they needed this year in Cleveland was a fresh start.
"Since I've been at Kent State, we've always had a good record in the tournament," junior forward VonCameron Davis said. "We always have been a winning team or won the championship.
"It's honestly the familiarity with coming here, just making winning plays, doing the right things and playing good team basketball."
Kent State did just that.
Kent State guard Giovanni Santiago (11) celebrates after the Golden Flashes upset top seed Toledo in the quarterfinals of the Mid-American Conference Tournament on Thursday.
The Flashes led for almost 33 minutes. Their biggest deficit — 7-2 — was barely felt. They regained the lead late in the first half and never lost it. Their lead soared to 12 midway through the second half.
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When Toledo made a late run, the Flashes kept their composure and regained control.
"What a great win for us," coach Rob Senderoff said. "I'm really proud of these guys.
"The execution of our players was as good as it could be. Holding this team to 59 points, the leading offensive team in the league, it's just an unbelievable job by everybody who stepped on the court for us."
The Flashes don't want beating Toledo to be the pinnacle of their weekend. If they can beat the No. 1 seed, why can't they defend their tournament championship?
"It's a whole new season once you get to Cleveland," Bekelja said. "We had a target on our backs the whole regular season. Everyone got their licks in, so we just decided to hunker down and do our thing here. That's what we're trying to do."
Kent State's Mike Bekelja (15) celebrates after making a 3-pointer in the quarterfinals of the Mid-American Conference Tournament on Thursday in Cleveland.
While Kent State looks ahead to Friday, Toledo wonders what might have been — again.
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The Rockets are the second team to win at least a share of four straight MAC regular season championships. The last team to do it was Cincinnati in 1951.
Thursday's loss means the Rockets will be out of the NCAA Tournament. They have not been there since 1980.
"Their program has done so well," Senderoff said. "[Coach] Tod [Kowalczyk] has done such a good job there. You certainly feel for him, his players and their fans.
"That's this league. This league is a really tough league. You have to be on point up here every second of every single game."
Reach Mike at mike.popovich@cantonrep.com
On X: @mpopovichREP
This article originally appeared on The Repository: Kent State men's basketball's MAC tourney upset changes season outlook
