CLEVELAND — In the realms of Northeast Ohio college basketball, there is no game that matters more.
Never is that truer than in the finals of the MAC Tournament, and Saturday night in downtown Cleveland, bitter rivals Akron and Kent State once again faced off in this ultimate showdown. This time, it was the Zips who prevailed, beating the Golden Flashes 62-61 in what will go down as an instant classic.
Neither team could pull away, with the lead changing multiple times in the final minutes alone. KSU went ahead by one on Cli-Ron Hornbeak's tip in, but then Julius Rollins inexplicably fouled Greg Tribble on the inbound, sending him to the line with just 4.8 seconds left.
Tribble, who finished the night with just four points, drained both. Jalen Sullinger had a chance to win it at the buzzer, but his short jumper was off the mark, and Akron fans exploded with jubilation.
For his part, Tribble admitted he was shocked when he was fouled, but was unfazed by the strangeness of the moment.
"It was surprising," he told reporters after the game, "but it was like, 'Alright, free points. I'll take them.'"
Kent State head coach Rob Senderoff acknowledged Rollins had fouled Tribble on purpose, likely thinking the Flashes were losing when they were, in fact, ahead. However, he absolved Rollins of blame for the loss (even asserting he should've called a timeout in that situation), and vowed to be there for his player.
"I told him ... 'If it's the worst thing that's ever happened to you when you're 50 years old like I am, you've lived a pretty, pretty charmed life,'" Senderoff said of his conversation with Rollins in the locker room. "Tomorrow, the sun will come up. It'll be a little cloudy for men and for our guys, but the sun will come up tomorrow."
Senderoff's Akron counterpart John Groce also expressed sympathy for the situation.
"We've all made mistakes," Groce remarked. "It's you're resiliency, your bounce-back, and I'm sure that [Rollins] will."
Aside from the crucial final seconds, the No. 2 seed Zips (24-10) were led by their two stars: Ali Ali and Enrique Freeman. Ali led his team with 18 points, while Freeman scored 17 with nine rebounds to nab tournament MVP honors for the second time in three years.
"You remember when LeBron won a championship in 2016, and he was like, 'Cleveland, this is for you'? that's how I feel," Freeman, a St. Martin de Porres High School alum, joked.
For Ali, the journey may be even more unique, as he helped Akron win this tournament in 2022 only to transfer to Butler for the next season. He decided to return to Summit County this year, though, and is grateful for the results.
"This is the reason why I wanted to come back," Ali said. "We had to go through so much just to get here, and I think that's just what makes it even more special."
Kent State (17-17) won this tournament last season, but injuries and inconsistencies saw them enter the bracket as the eighth and final seed. Despite having their backs against the wall, the Golden Flashes upset top-seeded Toledo as well as Bowling Green to reach the title game, and came within seconds of shocking the world one more time.
"I feel really, really badly for our whole roster with how we lost," Senderoff noted, "but also just have tremendous amount of pride in the fact that over these last three days, we really came together as a group."
VonCameron Davis led KSU with 21 points, and Jalen Sullinger added 19 with eight rebounds. Unfortunately, the Flashes' hot shooting from earlier in the tourney went cold, with the team making just 37.9% of its field goal attempts. Giovanni Santiago struggled, in particular, going 3 of 13 and 0 of 5 from 3-point range.
This will be Akron's second NCAA Tournament appearance under Groce and sixth overall, with the program still seeking its first victory in "March Madness." The Zips' most recent try came two years ago, when as a 14-seed they nearly knocked off powerhouse UCLA in the first round before falling 57-53.
Akron spent much of the season atop the MAC standings before faltering late, surrendering the regular-season title to Toledo on the final day. Groce's squad then faced second-half deficits in all three tournament games, but overcame adversity every single time.
"Maybe some people had counted these guys out, but they don't understand the character these guys have in between their ears and in their chest like I do," Groce said. "I knew they would come back and fight."
The full NCAA Tournament bracket will be revealed Sunday at 6 p.m.