MAC Memories - Volume 2 - Games 5-1

Hi again everybody! Well it's almost the eve of another Kent State/Akron basketball game here at the MAC Center.

A couple of weeks ago, I rolled out five of the top Mid-American Conference games I've witnessed in person. It's seems fitting to wait until today to reveal my top five. I would like to say thanks to the great number of loyal Flashes fans who either emailed me or mentioned to me in person their own personal top MAC memories. Many of them are on this list!

So here they are, and here's to making another one tomorrow night!

Go Flashes!

TL

#5 – March 12 2011 – Kent State vs. Akron – MAC Championship

After splitting the two regular season meetings, no one was surprised when the two rivals survived the first two rounds of the MAC Tournament and met for a third time in the finals. Cleveland’s Quicken Loans Arena was abuzz hours before the game with fans eager to see the two belligerents decide the MAC title.

From the outset, the intense pressure of a championship game against a rival was palpable. Key plays and mistakes were both made as the game wore on into the night. With the game tied late, KSU’s Rodriguez Sherman fired a prayer as the buzzer sounded that sailed wide, sending the game into overtime.

With 9,000 fans on their feet for the five-minute overtime, KSU took a 62-59 lead but then hit a dry spell. Akron’s Brett McKnight buried two free throws with 12 seconds left to give the Zips a 66-65 lead and the Golden Flashes’ final two shots were blocked to bring the game to its final heartbreaking result.

The Flashes managed just six points in the extra session on 2/13 shooting, but found their stroke the next week in California as they upset St. Mary’s in the NIT.

Akron 66, Kent State 65 F/OT

#4 – March 8 2003 – Kent State vs. Ohio – MAC Semi-finals

It was like a scene out of “Gunfight at the O.K. Corral.”

But instead of Claiborne, Clanton and McLaury against Virgil, Morgan, Earp and Holliday, it was Gates and Wilkins against Hunter and Esterkamp.

Antonio Gates

For twenty tantalizing minutes in the first half, Kent State and Ohio fired bullet after bullet at each other. Defense seemed to be optional as the two teams headed for their locker rooms deadlocked at 38. The second half was equally as entertaining. Wilkins enjoyed a phenomenal night, striking for 22 points in his hometown. The Gates/Hunter match-up was worth the price of admission in itself as the two big-bodied forwards locked horns all night. Gates finished with 21 and Hunter tallied 26 points and six rebounds in the back-and-forth affair.

A Gates jumper late gave the Flashes some breathing room and they calmly hit their free throws to clinch a spot in the title game.

Kent State 73, Ohio 70 F

#3 – January 23, 2008 – Akron @ Kent State

Thanks to the miracle of television, the first regular season encounter between the hated rivals was my first ever chance to call a Kent State/Akron men’s game on radio. With Bill Needle and Tom Linder sliding over to the TV side, I jumped into the radio air chair for my first taste of the rivalry.

It was a messy first half for the good guys who trailed a hot-shooting Zips squad, 35-25. But in the second period, the Flashes rallied and dropped 50 on their unsuspecting guests. The frustration piled up as an ugly shoving match broke out in the corner near the end of the game following a foul. To compound matters, some unruly fans showered Zips’ players with debris in the melee, prompting head coach Jim Christian to grab the PA mic and demand order – a la Sam Wyche of the Cincinnati Bengals.

The Flashes were paced by Chris Singletary, whose 7/8 shooting night led the way for the winners. This triumph would be the first of three in 2008 for the Golden Flashes over the Zips – including a resounding win in the tournament finals.

Kent State 75, Akron 69 F

#2 – February 3, 2003 – Miami @ Kent State

It was called the “Greatest Team in Kent State Basketball History.” The 2001-2002 Golden Flashes shattered the school record books, rolled through the Mid-American Conference and jumped into the national spotlight with an appearance in the NCAA Division I Basketball Tournament’s Elite Eight.

Not quite a year after they become a national sensation, four key members of that historic squad were summoned back to the MAC Center for a jersey retirement ceremony. It was a big party in Kent, Ohio and there was just one little problem.

Someone put Charlie Coles and the Miami RedHawks on the guest list.

Kent State's Fab Four

The 5,682 other party-goers were stunned as the rude RedHawks seized command of the game, going up by 19 in the first half. KSU could do nothing right. But during a timeout, Trevor Huffman, Demetric Shaw, Andrew Mitchell and Eric Thomas moved from the seats to behind Kent’s bench. And the rally was on.

Led by Antonio Gates – who, at one point scored 12 straight points by himself - the Flashes fought back to within 11 at the break and roared to life after halftime to deliver a haymaker to the bewildered RedHawks. With the MAC Center roof literally vibrating due to the noise, Eric Haut then began a long-distance spectacular, burying three after three as KSU ran away with the game.

Afterward, it was a truly humbling experience to be able to interview both the star of this game (Gates), and the guest of honor (Huffman).

Kent State 70, Miami 60 F

#1 – March 4 2011 – Akron at Kent State

It was a dream setup that even the most ambitious Hollywood writer couldn’t have concocted.

After a mesmerizing regular season, the Kent State Golden Flashes and the Akron Zips had one game to play. All that remained to be settled was the 2011 regular season champion and top seed. The MAC Center was ready for the Friday Night Fight of a lifetime.

The Zips took advantage of a slow shooting start for KSU to go up by four at the intermission. But the second half featured yet another classic MAC Center comeback. Sparked by veteran star Justin Greene, the Golden Flashes made their move. And with the crowd at a constant din, Akron’s Quincy Diggs was called for a foul that he didn’t quite agree with. Frustration then took over and before his dialogue with referee Bo Boroski was over, Diggs was ejected from the game – symbolically ending the Zips’ night.

With nearly 6,500 screaming fans on their feet, KSU piled it on, hitting clutch three after clutch three. Security personnel stood helplessly by as rabid Flashes’ fans stormed the court in celebration of the team’s second consecutive league title.

Kent State 79, Akron 68 F