CLEVELAND: With just over 43 seconds to go in Kent State’s 70-65 Mid-American Conference championship win over the University of Akron on Saturday, all five of the Golden Flashes were huddled up.
They had a 64-59 lead. Sophomore guard Jaylin Walker — who scored a game-high 30 points — broke out of the huddle and went to the free-throw line for crucial foul shots.
Mere minutes later, the Flashes (22-13, 10-8 MAC) celebrated their conference championship. In the fleeting moments of the ensuing media frenzy, the players all referenced sticking together.
“It’s all about togetherness and belief in each other,” said senior forward Jimmy Hall, who had 19 points and a team-high 10 rebounds. “[It’s about] just staying together as a team, a family, and play Kent State basketball.”
The Flashes won nine of their last 10 games to cap the season, but they entered the conference tournament as the sixth seed. They were underdogs in all but their first game of the MAC Tournament, primarily due to their sluggish month of January.
At that point in the season, the Flashes seemed ready to bottom out.
They started conference play with a 100-90 win over Ball State but dropped the following four games. A blowout road loss to Ohio, an overtime loss to Northern Illinois, and losses to Western Michigan and Buffalo all came in a cold January for the Flashes. They won their next two games — at home against Toledo and at Northern Illinois — but the Flashes ended January with an overtime loss to Central Michigan at home.
Until February, it looked like the Flashes might fizzle out of contention, but during their hot streak entering the tournament, they evened the season series against the Bobcats and Bulls.
They won rematches with three of those teams in the conference tournament — the Chippewas, Bulls and Bobcats — to reach the title game against the top-seeded Zips.
“After all these losses … coach Sendy said, ‘Forget about [those] games,’ ” junior guard Kevin Zabo said. “When we got revenge on all those teams that beat us, I want to say that was big.”
In February, the Flashes traveled to Akron to play the Zips, who boasted a 30-game home winning streak at the time. Freshman guard Mitch Peterson (Walsh Jesuit) said the 70-67 upset win helped the Flashes regain their footing. Days later, they beat the Bulls in Buffalo.
“We just stuck together as a team and gelled at the right time,” Peterson said. “When we beat Akron and then we beat Buffalo, both on the road, we knew from there we could do anything in this league and win the whole thing.”