PITTSBURGH — University of Akron men's basketball coach John Groce embraced with each of his five seniors one final time on the court Thursday at PPG Paints Arena.
Seniors Enrique Freeman , Ali Ali , Greg Tribble Jr. , Sammy Hunter and Kaleb Thornton played key roles in leading Akron this season to its sixth appearance in the NCAA Tournament.
No. 14 seed Akron played hard in a Midwest Region first-round game against No. 3 seed Creighton, but the Bluejays featured too many offensive weapons and earned a 77-60 win.
Freeman finished with 21 points and 14 rebounds, his 31st double-double this season to tie an NCAA record, an impressive final achievement for the 6-foot-7 former walk-on who became an Associated Press Honorable Mention All-American .
"The journey's been amazing, super grateful for the journey," Freeman said. "I wouldn't ask for it to go any different. I'm very proud of what I was able to accomplish here and all of us were able to accomplish here, and I'm happy that we're able to leave on a legacy. Akron basketball, Akron culture, we've done a lot of winning and we want to just pass on the torch. Those guys in 2019-2020 passed the torch to us. Time for us to pass the torch."
Akron (24-11) led by three several times, including 34-31, before Creighton ended the first half with an 8-0 run the final 2:01 to lead 39-34 at halftime. The Bluejays (24-9) then opened the second half on a 20-8 run to build a 59-42 lead with 12:30 left.
"I felt like we were making a lot of shots in the first half, which led to they can't get out in transition as much if you are making shots," Tribble said. "And then I felt like in the second half, we wasn't making as many shots. We started gambling and then they're a really good team on offense and once they start getting open shots it's hard to stop them from making shots. They were just real good in transition."
Groce described Creighton's offense as "prolific," and indeed it was with 7-1 senior Ryan Kalkbrenner (23 points), 6-4 junior Trey Alexander (19 points) and 6-7 senior Baylor Scheierman (15 points, 13 rebounds) leading the way.
"Obviously, not that ideal ending that we wanted, but I got to go out with the people that I care about the most outside of my family back home," Ali said. "Honestly, these are like my brothers. I don't really got too many friends back home. These are the guys I'm around with a lot. So if I'm going to lose, I'm going to lose with them. If I'm going to win, I'm going to win with them. That was a big part of coming back [from Butler] and knowing that I would regret it looking down if I didn't finish off my college career with these guys next to me and in the locker room.
"I'm definitely appreciative of the run we've had the last four or five years, and just looking back, obviously as a kid, middle school or high school, for me not having a D I offer senior year starting, Groce coming in and giving me one chance. No one else gave me a chance coming out of high school. So, I think just coming into this tournament has kind of been a story of our lives. Always been underdogs. So, I mean, I'm just grateful and appreciative for all the people I've met on the way."
Ali finished with 14 points and two assists. Hunter added seven points.
"I'm really proud of these guys, proud of our whole team, but in particular [the] senior class and what they've meant to our program," Groce said. "... It's not just the winning, obviously, that's the part that you get to see ... three championships over five years and the win percentage and all that that these guys have been able to attain. But it's bigger than that to me.
"It's the people that they are, the people that they've become, the leaders that they've been the way they are on campus, the way they treat people, the teammates that they've been, their work capacity, their commitment to being great, their commitment to each other, how much they care about each other and how much they care about winning.
"... It's been a real privilege to coach 'em and to work with 'em. ... I wish we had played a little bit better today, but right now I kind of have an attitude of gratitude for these three guys [Freeman, Ali and Tribble] and Thornton and Hunter, who aren't up here."
Zips sophomore Nate Johnson scored six points and Tribble had five points.
"I'm just thankful for the opportunity of coach Groce and the coaching staff for even believing in me to come to this university," Tribble said. "Just teaching the younger guys that just don't take it for granted. Obviously, we put in a lot of work to get to where we at now, to do as much winning as we have and just teaching them. That's what it's all about — just teaching them that you just can't take it for granted. You got to work hard every day."
Akron's Mikal Dawson has one season of eligibility remaining, and Shammah Scott, Tavari Johnson, Amani Lyles, Ryan Prather Jr. and Nate Johnson also can return next season. Groce's focus, though, was on this season's seniors.
"Those guys will always be a part of not only the Akron family, but my personal family," Groce said. "You know, I love them. They're great, great, great guys."
Michael Beaven can be reached at mbeaven@thebeaconjournal and is on Twitter at @MBeavenABJ .
This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Enrique Freeman, Ali Ali end Akron basketball careers in March Madness
