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Akron vs Kent State basketball score, recap | Zips clinch MAC regular-season championship
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- Akron vs Kent State basketball score, recap | Zips clinch MAC regular-season championship
There's nothing quite like a late-season Wagon Wheel grudge match to help the Akron and Kent State men's basketball programs gear up for the Mid-American Conference Tournament next month in Cleveland.
Akron defeated rival Kent State 77-72 Friday night at Rhodes Arena to clinch the MAC regular season championship.
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Akron (23-6, 15-1 in the MAC) has won its past five meetings against Kent State (19-10, 9-7). The Zips beat the Golden Flashes 85-71 on Jan. 31 in Kent and finished the regular season sweep Friday night.
Tavari Johnson led Akron with 16 points. Nate Johnson totaled 14 points, 10 rebounds, four assists and two steals and Shammah Scott had nine points, six rebounds, three steals and two assists.
Akron's James Okonkwo , Seth Wilson and Bowen Hardman scored eight points apiece and Amani Lyles added seven points. Okonkwo also grabbed seven rebounds and Lyles had five rebounds, three assists and three blocks.
Jalen Sullinger paced Kent State with 19 points. Marquis Barnett had 14 points and seven rebounds. Delrecco Gillespie added 10 points and eight rebounds. Cli'Ron Hornbeak and VonCameron Davis scored nine points apiece.
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Tipoff for the showdown televised nationally by ESPN2 occurred at 9:06 p.m. Check back here for updates throughout the game.
Akron wins 77-72 over Kent State to clinch the MAC regular season championship
Akron wins 77-72 over Kent State to clinch the MAC regular season championship.
Akron leads 76-72 with 13.8 seconds remaining in the second half
Amani Lyles missed a two-hand slam dunk with 47 seconds remaining to give Kent State hope.
Cian Medley made a jumper with 29.4 seconds left to trim Kent's deficit to 75-72. Shammah Scott made 1 of 2 free throws with 26.8 seconds left to make it 76-72.
Akron extends lead to 75-70 over Kent State with 1:23 remaining in the second half
Amani Lyles with a two-hand slam dunk off of a pass by Shammah Scott gives Akron a 75-70 lead. Rob Senderoff calls a timeout with 1:23 to go in the second half.
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Nate Johnson made 3 of 3 free throws with 2:53 to go and Shammah Scott made 2 of 2 free throws with 2:30 to go prior to Lyles dunk. Akron is on a 21-8 run.
Akron leads Kent State 68-67 with 3:14 remaining in the second half
Akron compiled a 14-5 run to take a 68-67 leads over Kent State with 3:14 remaining in the second half.
Tavari Johnson made two shots late in the shot clock during the run, a 3-pointer with 5:18 on the clock and a layup with 3:31 left to give the Zips the one-point lead. Seth Wilson added a 3 during the run.
Jalen Sullinger has 17 points for the Flashes. Tavari Johnson has 16 points for the Zips.
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Kent State leads Akron 62-54 with 8:31 remaining in the second half
Kent State responds with an 11-2 run to lead Akron 62-54 with 8:32 remaining in the second half. Akron coach John Groce is granted a timeout a second later.
Cli'Ron Hornbeak scored Kent State's first seven points during the spurt with three field goals and a free throw. Two of the shots were layups off of rebounds. Delrecco Gillespie added two free throws and Jamal Sumlin made a jumper.
Amani Lyles made a layup for Akron during the stretch off of a pass from Bowen Hardman.
Akron leads Kent State 52-51 with 11:57 remaining in the second half
James Okonkwo makes a layup to give Akron a 52-51 with 11:58 remaining in the second half. Kent State coach Rob Senderoff is granted a timeout a second later.
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Okonkwo's layup came after Akron grabbed three offensive rebounds on the possession.
Bowen Hardman made a layup with 12:45 to go to trim Kent State's lead to 51-50. Tavari Johnson assisted on Hardman's layup after stealing the ball.
Kent State leads Akron 51-48 with 13:34 remaining in the second half
Marquis Barnett grabs a rebound and makes a layup to five Kent State a 51-48 lead with 13:34 remaining in the second half. Flashes coach Rob Senderoff calls a timeout.
Barnett has 12 points and five rebounds. Sullinger leads the Flashes with 17 points.
Akron cut its deficit to 49-48 with a layup by Nate Johnson before Barnett's rebound and two.
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Tavari Johnson leads the Zips with 11 points and Nate Johnson has eight points.
Akron trims Kent State's lead to 44-41 with 15:35 remaining in the second half
Akron opens up the second half with a 9-5 scoring advantage to trim Kent State's lead to 44-41 with 15:35 remaining in the second half. Seth Wilson and Tavari Johnson each made a 3-pointer during the spurt for Akron.
Jalen Sullinger gave Kent State a 42-32 lead with a 3-pointer in the opening minute of the second half. Sullinger has 15 points and Marquis Barnett is at nine points.
Tavari Johnson has nine points for Akron.
Kent State Golden Flashes guard Marquis Barnett (2) makes a layup under Akron Zips forward Amani Lyles (0) during the first half of an NCAA college basketball game at James A. Rhodes Arena on Friday, Feb. 28, 2025, in Akron, Ohio.
Kent State leads Akron 39-32 at halftime
The Golden Flashes led the Zips 39-32 at halftime.
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After Akron cut Kent State's lead to two points with roughly five minutes left in the first half, KSU outscored UA 11-4 to end the first half.
Guard Jalen Sullinger led Kent State with 12 points in the first half, followed by guard Marquis Barnett with nine points off the bench.
Guards Tavari Johnson and Bowen Hardman led UA with six points apiece in the first half.
UA went to the locker room at halftime with a shot of momentum. Guard Shammah Scott stole an inbounds pass with 7.1 seconds left in the first half and parlayed the turnover into a fast-break layup, slicing KSU's advantage to 39-32.
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After beginning the game with a 7-1 disadvantage in rebounding, Kent State led Akron 20-16 in rebounding at halftime and outscored UA 28-16 in the paint through the first half.
Kent State's lead trimmed to 28-26 by Akron with 4:56 remaining in the first half
After falling behind by 10 points, Akron fired back with a 10-2 run, cutting KSU's lead to 28-26 during a Kent State timeout with 4:56 left in the first half.
Two 3-pointers served as bookends on the UA run. Hardman and guard Nate Johnson made those shots.
Kent State leads Akron 26-16 with 8:06 left in the first half
Kent State used a 21-4 run to build a 26-16 advantage, a margin by which the Golden Flashes led with 8:06 left in the first half.
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Akron used a timeout in the midst of a 9-0 run by Kent State. At this stage, Sullinger had a game-high eight points for KSU.
Kent State Golden Flashes lead Akron Zips 13-12 with 12:39 remaining in the first half
Guard Jamal Sumlin gave Kent State a spark off the bench, posting four points and two steals in his four minutes of action. His second steal led to a KSU possession in which the Golden Flashes took a 13-12 lead with a putback by center Cli'Ron Hornbeak.
KSU led by the same score during a media timeout with 11:42 remaining in the first half.
Akron leads Kent State 7-5 with 15:48 left in the first half
Akron led 7-5 during the first media timeout with 15:48 left in the first half.
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After KSU scored first, the Zips went on a 7-0 run powered by guard Tavari Johnson's two field goals and guard Isaiah Gray's three-point play.
Sullinger made a deep 3-pointer with 16:08 remaining in the first half, shortly before the first timeout. Akron had a 7-1 rebounding advantage out of the gate.
Here is some pregame information:
What is the history between Akron and Kent State in men's basketball?
Akron leads 84-82 in its all-time series with Kent State. John Groce is 11-7 as Akron's coach against Kent State and 15-12 overall versus KSU (he was previously at the helm of Ohio ). Akron is 46-25 at home against Kent State.
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UA has won its past four games against KSU. Akron won all three meetings last season, including 62-61 in the MAC Tournament championship . With the win, the Zips captured the MAC's automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament and then lost 77-60 to Creighton in the first round of March Madness.
Akron and Kent State will each have two regular-season games left after they face each other. Both teams have already clinched MAC Tournament berths. The tourney is scheduled for March 13-15 at Rocket Arena .
Looking back at Wagon Wheel 2025 Part 1: Akron men's basketball plays like 'an unbelievable team' in win over Kent State to stay atop MAC
Akron's Nate Johnson looks for a second-half basket as Kent State's Cian Medley defends Friday, Jan. 31, 2025.
Zips, Golden Flashes men's basketball broadcast information. How can I watch on TV, listen on radio or stream the Akron vs Kent State game?
The Akron-Kent State game will be televised nationally on ESPN2. It will be broadcast on local radio via WHLO (640-AM).
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More on Kent State vs. Akron basketball: 5 things to know about second round of Wagon Wheel rivalry
Nate Ulrich can be reached at nulrich@thebeaconjournal.com. On Twitter: @ByNateUlrich .
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Akron vs Kent State men's basketball: UA wins MAC regular-season title
