2021 MAC Men’s Basketball Game Recap: Akron Zips at Kent State Golden Flashes

If you came into the game at the start of the second half, you may have been tempted to rurn it back off immediately.

The Akron Zips were ahead of the Kent State Golden Flashes by 20 points at about the mid-part of the game. Given that the two teams were even with their records, the signifigant gap was fairly unexpected.

As I watched the late throes of the game, the Golden Flashes kept eating away at the Akron Zips lead, and were within 5 points with 1:50 left on the clock. Danny Pippen was able to make the and one to bring it to that point. Loren Christian Jackson made the two point jumper extend the lead back to 7.

Kent State wouldn’t score again after that, with the game ending in a 68-61 victory for the Akron Zips.

The Zips’ leading scorer would be Bryan Trimble Jr. with 26 points. He was 8-of-11 for field goals and 7-of-10 from three point range. He would also 3-of-3 from the charity stripe. To say he had a good night would be an understatement. Kent State’s leading scorer was Danny Pippen with 17 points. He also had 11 rebounds to make a double-double.

With this win, Akron advances to an 11-4 overall record (8-3 MAC.) Kent State falls to 10-5 overall (8-4 MAC.) With their earlier victory of 66-62 back in January, Akron has swept the season series. By virtue of the win, the Zips also retain the second spot in the MAC standings. Kent State, for now, holds the third spot, pending the results of Saturday’s contests.