The University of Akron men’s basketball team might have played its worst stretch of the season, and Kent State pounced all over it for a 70-67 Mid-American Conference win that delayed the Zips’ coronation as regular-season champions.
The loss Friday night at Rhodes Arena ended the Zips’ (22-5, 12-2 MAC) home winning streak at 30.
UA will look to claim that title on the road next week against Bowling Green.
Kent State’s Deon Edwin led all scorers with 21 points and added six rebounds, and Jimmy Hall followed him with 18 points and six rebounds.
Center Isaiah Johnson led the Zips with 18 points and grabbed seven rebounds. Daniel Utomi came off the bench to give the Zips 16 points.
The Golden Flashes (15-12, 7-7) used a 15-2 run to open the second half and assume a 46-38 lead after trailing 36-31 at halftime.
The Flashes came out on fire offensively and also put the clamps down on the Zips, to capture the momentum.
During the course of Kent State’s run, UA shot 1-of-11 from the floor and at one point didn’t score for more than a seven-minute stretch.
“We know we’re capable of it,” Hall said of competing with the best in the MAC. “We really have to take care of the ball and defend and everything will take care of itself.”
KSU coach Rob Senderoff said there was another key to that stretch.
“We came out in the second half and we just wanted to get the ball to Jimmy inside and make simple plays.” he said. “Off the front court, off the post, I thought he did a good job sharing the ball and making a couple of shots.
“It was important for us for sure to get off to a good start in the second half. They were up at halftime and it allowed us to take a little bit of the momentum out of the place.”
The fact that the Zips couldn’t hit a shot in those moments played a huge role.
“We didn’t shoot well from the 3-line which turned the game into a grinding type of game,” UA coach Keith Dambrot said. “We started the second half poorly, which disappointed me.”
Ultimately, Dambrot viewed the game as a very small blessing in disguise. The Zips have played in a lot of close games this season, showing significant poise along the way.
“I told our guys if we were going to lose a game, I’ll take that one,” he said. “I’d much rather lose this one rather than the last one like against Buffalo last year.”
The Flashes outshot the Zips 43 percent to 42 percent, with the primary difference coming from behind the 3-point line where Kent State made 7-of-19 to the Zips’ 5-of-22. The Zips came in averaging close to 11 3-pointers per game.
Dambrot is looking to the game as a teaching moment.
“This one, at least we’ll see if our guys can rally themselves,” Dambrot said. “It’s not going to define us.”
George M. Thomas can be reached at gmthomas@thebeaconjournal.com. Read the Zips blog at www.ohio.com/zips. Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/GeorgeThomasABJ.