MAC Tournament Semifinals: #3 Akron vs #7 Western Michigan
The 2010 MAC Basketball Tournament continues on Friday with the first game of the night featuring the #2 seed Akron Zips (23-9) facing the #7 seed Western Michigan Broncos (18-14). Akron needed double overtime to get past #6 Eastern Michigan in the Quarterfinals by a score of 97-89 on Thursday and was 12-4 this season in MAC play. Western Michigan topped arch-rival #2 Central Michigan 69-60 in the quarterfinal opener of the 2010 MAC Tournament on Thursday. These two teams hooked up once this year with Akron scoring a 79-70 victory on WMU’s home court in Kalamazoo.
The live blog of Akron vs WMU will begin tonight just before tipoff at 7 pm ET. In addition, check out the live Twitter updates of the 2010 MAC Tournament provided by VanDelay Sports and all of the MAC Tournament tagged updates on Twitter.
With about 10 minutes until tipoff let’s take a quick look back at what we saw yesterday with these two teams… Akron had a 14 point lead in the 2nd half that they let slip away before closing things out against EMU in Double OT. Alternatively, Western Michigan closed a 14-point second half defecit to beat #2 seed Central Michigan and move on.
Akron had trouble containing Eastern Michigan point guard Carlos Medlock, who went off to the tune of 42 points. In the Western Michigan comeback, WMU guard and MAC POTY David Kool carried his team in the 2nd half with 26 points. While both guys got to the line a lot, Medlock did his damage with jumpers while Kool continuously beat his man to the hoop. Hitchens, Roberts, and McNees will all be charged with slowing him down tonight.
Speaking of McNees, talking about exercising the ghosts of Pennos past. With 6 seconds left yesterday in the first OT, down 3, McNees drove the length of the court, zig-zagged, stepped back, and nailed a 3-pointer with 0.8 seconds left to tie the game back up and save the Akron season. Remember, Akron had a lot of trouble last season with Toledo in their opener, and pulled out a similar miracle win before winning their first MAC tournament. Should be interesting to see if they can put on a similar display this year. With favorite Kent now sitting at home, and after surviving yesterday’s scare, you’ve gotta feel like the Zips think this is now their tournament to lose.
15:54 - Akron up 8-2 early behind some sloppy WMU offense. The Broncos have been attempting to make the extra pass inside, but have been having trouble handling that extra pass cleanly. 3 turnovers later WMU has only gotten up 3 shots so far.
15:28 - Akron trying to work the mismatch, working it to Zeke a lot early. He has a bucket, but also 2 turnovers.
12:03 - 15-10 Akron, the Broncos are finally getting some shots up, but they haven’t been able to slow the Zips on offense yet. Look up spread scoring attack in the dictionary and there’s a picture of Akron. 7 guys have scored, nobody more than 3. Can’t key on one guy that way. No surprise on the other end, Kool is who makes the Broncos go. He has 6 of their 10. We’re only 8 minutes in, but it looks like WMU will need a superhuman effort from Kool tonight. WMU 3-9 shooting, Akron 6-12 shooting so far. 5 of Akron’s misses are on 3 balls.
10:47 - And there’s an intentional foul on WMU’s David Brown, who knocks Humpty Hitchens to the floor. Didn’t look super-malicious, but you never like to see that.
9:40 - Don’t make Hitchens made, he knocks down a 3, and Hawkins has to use a TO, Akron up 24-10.
9:20 - WMU with the and-1? No… wave it off, player control. The Broncos just look overmatched so far in this one.
7:39 - 28-14, WMU finally ends the run, but they’re going to need to do more to get back into this. WMU only shooting 39% to Akron’s 61%, but the big problem is turnovers, 8 already for the Broncos, leading to 13 Akron points.
6:55 - You cannot give a team shooting 60+% 2nd and 3rd chances. Western finally gets a board, takes it to the other end and score. Western fans sense momentum and get loud.
5:14 - Hey, some defense on Akron’s shooters and then someone not named Kool doing something on offense for WMU. Suddenly we’ve got a 5 point game and Dambrot needs a timeout.
4:20 - Dorky media row moment… We notice that Akron once led by 14 and all get excited since that was the large lead that got erased in both team’s games last night.
3:13 - Western absolutely has to play better defense. Way too many clean looks for Akron in this one. 35-26.
1:10 - Western fans not thrilled with the 8-3 foul differential. Though I will say fans never, ever, ever like player-control/blocking calls.
Halftime - Heckuva play by Jimmy Conyers. With time running out, Hitchens pulls up for 30 footer, airballs it, WMU doesn’t close out on the boards, Conyers slips behind everyone, catches the ball and in an up-and-under move lays it up and in for two a split second before the buzzer sounds. Excellent awareness by Conyers, laziness by Western Michigan defenders. Akron is up 40-31 at the half. Western made a game of it, but they can’t make it so easy for the Zips to score. Akron shooting 47% on 15-32 shooting. Western is only shooting 46%, but worse has only gotten up 24 shots.
18:44 - 43-34 - Lawson splits a pair… must capitalize from the line.
18:10 - Broncos hanging in 43-36. Kool already has 18 points.
17:16 - Ugly no call… Whitfield backs his man down, gets to about 5 feet in gets hacked on the elbow so bad that he airballs and there’s no call. WMU fans are incensed, but to be fair, it’s the first time that I’ve agreed with them that he refs are jobbing them.
15:30 - WMU giving up more 2nd and 3rd chances. Kool answers with another 3. Still a 9 point game, 49-41. If I’m Dambrot I’m getting someone other than McNees on Kool.
14:29 - Here comes the David Kool show on offense, he gets to the line and cuts it to 7… WMU getting out played, but hanging around… This is where teams are dangerous. Especially when Akron struggles from the line as they tend to do in tight games.
12:52 - Kool with a 3, cuts it to 5. He’s got 26.
12:15 - Cvetinovic travels, Hutchenson 3! 2 point game. Akron looking tense, WMU with momentum.
11:45 - Lawson fouled in the post… not sure if they called that shooting or if it’s 1-and-1, but regardless Lawson at the line with a chance to tie it here.
Misses the front-end. Ouch.
Chris McKnight doesn’t miss when he’s wide open from 3, and he proves it there. Could have been tied, instead WMU down 5.
WMU’s offense reminds me of the Cavs 4th Quarter offense, sub Kool for LeBron and there you have it.
9:48 - Zips still by 5.
9:30 - Akron turnover, Kool hits another 3. He’s been amazing this game.
7:45 - Kool, stepback off the dribble 3 from the corner… Nylon… Tied game. Just an amazing shot. Ridiculous. 54-54.
You know what I love about Steve Hawkins, he knows that Kool is his best player and he finds a million ways to get him the ball. Too often you see the best player on a team wasted and not getting his touches, not on this team.
Akron goes to the line, up 2. Conyers working really hard to deny Kool the ball.
But fouls him in a scrum for the ball and Kool hits 2 freebies. Tied at 56.
5:53 - Conyers cutting right through the WMU D and getting to the hoop, can’t finish twice though. 56-56 still. WMU ball and they take a 30.
5:05 - Kool barrels to the hoop, somehow gets the ball in from under the 7-footer. 58-56 WMU. Conyers going to the line at the other end.
4:51 - Props to Nick “VanDelay” who called the WMU comeback when they were down 9 with about 16 minutes left in the second half. He didn’t like the way that Akron looked, and thought WMU would close in and could win it.Tied again at 58.
3:38 - 2 straight possessions that Zeke has been on Kool. Kool having some trouble with it… I like the “try anything on him” mentality from Dambrot here. Still tied at 58. McKnight hits 1 as we come back and that’s the lead… but WMU knocks it out and AK getting it back, not good. And on the free posession WMU holds tough… Kool scores on a dealyed shot. Steal. Kool spinning to the hoop… fouled, going to the line up 1.
2:38 - Kool’s not missing from the line. WMU up 62-59
2:33 - Dambrot wants to talk it over. I’ve been saying it all half, Akron looks tight. They need some ball movement and an open shooter here. I’d be drawing something up for Chris McKnight here…
1:56 - B McKnight a terrible brick, Hitchens airballs the putback and Western gets it, but Kool turns it over and B McKnight jams it at the other end. 62-61 WMU.
1:24 - McLemore almost gets tied up, regains control and lays it in, excellent move from someone not named Kool for WMU. WMU up 3, AK with ball.
1:02 - Chris McKnight open 3… BUCKETS… Tied at 64. He’s the most dangerous player on the court for Akron in my opinion and doesn’t see the ball nearly enough.
:30 - Kool turns it over… uh oh. Zips take a time out with a 7 second game/shot clock differential. Broncos need to D up like they’ve never D’d up before here.
Akron wins.
McNees looks like he’s going to pull up, beats his man, gets all the way to the hoop… can’t finish. Chris McKnight, rebound… putback. WMU has 6 seconds, inbound to Kool (obvioulsy) who dribbles down court, steps on the 3 point line and misses the final shot. Wow, that was exciting. Total bummer for Kool, who had an amazing game with 39 points.
Hilariously, the PA announcer tells us that Chris McKnight is the player of the game… Must the player of the game come from the winning team in all circumstances? At this point I’m considering voting Kool for Player of the Tournament…
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