CLEVELAND — It's only fitting that it would come down to this.
Kent State withstood a late charge Friday night to beat Ohio 67-61 in the semifinals of the Mid-American Conference Men's Basketball Tournament. The Golden Flashes head to Saturday's championship game, where whey will face archrival Akron for a trip to the NCAA tournament.
Things were back-and-forth early before KSU took the lead with a 15-0 run midway through the first half, and they never relinquished it. Despite having MAC Player of the Year Sincere Carry, it was Malique Jacobs who carried the Flashes (23-9) with 19 points, 10 rebounds, and five assists.
"I just played my role," Jacobs told reporters after the game. "You've got to be ready when you're number's called."
Carry got off to a slow start, but finished with 16 points and eight boards of his own. The Solon native didn't seem worried about his "off" night.
"The game is much bigger than me," he said, noting there are other ways he could make an impact besides scoring. "My teammates picked me up. ... I'm not too worried about my shots falling or not."
Kent State led by as many as 15, but Ohio (24-9) battled back behind Ben Vander Plas' game-high 20 points. The Bobcats cut the lead to 58-56 with less than three minutes to play, but Jacobs and Carry hit big shots and OU couldn't gain any more traction as KSU's swarming defense sealed the deal.
"Just a great team win," head coach Rob Senderoff said. "We're just trying to get one more, and if we do that, we'll talk about trying to get a couple more."
Not trying to focus too much on the aspect of the Akron rivalry, Senderoff and his players emphasized Saturday's final will be just as big no matter who their opponent was. Still, they acknowledged the atmosphere at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse would likely be electric for what has become a storied tradition in Northeast Ohio sports.
"I hope it's the best atmosphere I've ever seen in my life," Jacobs stated.
Kent State won both regular-season matchups with Akron this year. The last time the two rivals met in the MAC tournament came back in 2017, when Senderoff and the Flashes prevailed 66-56 to take the conference crown.
Tip-off for the MAC title game is set for 7:30 p.m. Saturday in Cleveland. In the meantime, check below for our full recap on Friday's action between Kent State and Ohio:
2ND HALF
0:00: Ohio can't get a shot off as time runs out, and Kent State earns a hard-fought 67-61 victory.
0:08: Vander Plas makes two of three to make it 65-61, but it's still a two score game. Sincere Carry then makes both in a one-and-one situation to extend Kent's lead back to 67-61.
0:13: Malique Jacobs hits a pair of big shots before Sincere Carry comes up with a fadeaway jumper. However, Ben Vander Plas is fouled on a 3-point attempt, and will shoot three free throws with the Bobcats down 65-61.
2:56: Sincere Carry hits a big 3, but Ben Vander Plas follows it with a dunk before Miles Brown nails a long-range jumper of his own. The Flashes lead is down to 58-56, and Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse is rocking.
5:46: All of a sudden, a 9-1 OU run cuts the Kent State lead to 53-49, and a Mark Spears 3 off a Jason Carter block forces Rob Senderoff to call timeout.
7:44: A Justyn Hamilton foul on Jason Carter is deemed to be a Flagrant 1, which gives Ohio two shots and the basketball. Carter makes them both to make it 52-42.
8:14: Kent State still leads by 12, now 52-40. Malique Jacobs officials has a double-double with 15 points and 10 boards.
11:23: KSU remains in control with a 45-33 lead, and Malique Jacobs now leads the squad with 13 points, eight rebounds, and four assists.
15:47: Kent State's swarming defense has held Ohio to a paltry 34.5 field-goal percentage. It's now 37-27 Golden Flashes.
1ST HALF
0:00: At the half, Kent State is in command of a 31-23 lead. Tervell Beck still leads the Flashes with nine points, while the Bobcats are shooting only 33.3% from the field.
3:49: Giovanni Santiago capped a 15-0 run with a 3, and Sincere Carry is heating up and now has six points and four rebounds. KSU has opened up a 27-19 edge.
8:23: Kent State goes on yet another run, this time 12-0 to take a 22-15 lead. Tervell Beck now has nine points.
10:57: Ohio goes up 15-10 before Kent State trims the deficit back to one. Cleveland native Tervell Beck leads the Golden Flashes with five points so far, and Justyn Hamilton added a vicious slam.
14:45: Kent State raced out to an 7-0 lead, but Ohio comes back to take an 8-7 advantage. Miles Brown has scored 5 so far for the Bobcats.