Ohio (20-13 overall, 14-6 Mid-American Conference) fell to Akron (23-10 overall, 15-5 Mid-American Conference) in the semi-finals of the MAC tournament on Friday night.
The loss ended the Bobcats’ season after an incredible game, one that saw stout defense, heroic individual performances, and a finish that came down to the wire. Ultimately, Ohio fell 65-62.
Similar to Ohio’s quarterfinal game against Western Michigan, both squads got off to slow starts. Akron took an early lead as Ohio made just 2 of its first 16 field goal attempts.
Miles Brown opened the three-point gates for the Bobcats, knocking down a transition three to get the Ohio crowd in Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse on its feet.
Ohio’s defense was the story of the first half, swarming the MAC Player of the Year Enrique Freeman whenever he got the ball.
Freeman finished the half with five turnovers and only six points, a testament to the incredible team defense that was played by Ohio in the opening half.
In the last five minutes of the first, Ohio went on a 10-0 run, again powered by its defense and bolstered by some impressive individual plays on offense.
Shereef Mitchell got an open layup after some nifty footwork and shot fakes in the post and AJ Clayton knocked down a pull-up three. To finish the half, Jaylin Hunter pulled off a masterful sequence, turning defense into offense after stripping Akron’s Shammah Scott on a fastbreak and coming down on the other end to sink a three and give Ohio a 10-point lead at halftime.
Akron was held to just 16 total points in the first half, the lowest total in a half from the Zips all year.
“We were down 8-2 early… to hold them to 16 at halftime, phenomenal job by our guys,” Ohio head coach Jeff Boals said.
The second half was a different story for both teams. The Zips looked like a completely new team, and their star big man Enrique Freeman looked like a completely different player. Freeman had 18 points in the second half along with his seven blocks and 21 rebounds in the game. His 21 total rebounds set a single-game MAC tournament record.
“Enrique plays hard, he's the Player of the Year for a reason,” sophomore forward Aidan Hadaway said. “His arms are just so long he just reaches over everybody. It’s hard to keep him off the glass ... The rebounds killed us.”
Ohio was outscored 49-36 in the second half. Another big reason besides the stellar play of Freeman was Akron’s shooting. The Zips shot just 1-8 from deep in the first half, completely turning it around in the second half to shoot 7-14 from three.
“7-14 in the second half, give them credit,” Boals said. “The seniors stepped up and made those shots in that type of game and environment, kudos to them”
One of those seniors was Akron’s Sammy Hunter, who provided a huge spark with his shooting, knocking down three threes in a two-and-a-half minute span.
Ohio was down by as much as nine in the second half, but after a Jaylin Hunter three and some free throws, it had a chance to tie the game if it could go the length of the court and hit a 3-point shot with 3.6 seconds left. Hunter received the inbound, sprinted down the court, and threw up a prayer that hit the top of the backboard and missed the bottom of the net. The buzzer sounded and Ohio’s season was over.
“I wish I would’ve set my feet and shot it like a regular shot,” said Hunter. “I was anticipating them to foul us while they were up three, and they ended up not, but I was hoping for a little bit of March Madness and it just didn’t go that way.
While Ohio’s season ended in heartbreaking fashion after a second-half resurgence from Akron, Boals was extremely proud of the squad’s effort.
“They left everything on the floor, they emptied the tank, I expect nothing less from this group,” Boals said. “They didn’t quit, which I knew they wouldn’t. It’s really been like that all year with the perseverance coming through ... This game doesn't define who they are and what they are as a team. Like I told him they're a fun group to be around. So it's hard not to be coaching them another night.”
