Akron dominated a battle of red-hot Northeast Ohio teams to claim the 2022 Mid-American Conference Tournament championship with a 75-55 victory over backyard rival Kent State Saturday night at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse in Cleveland.

The fourth-seeded Zips (24-9) earned their eighth consecutive victory, snapped the Golden Flashes’ 14-game winning streak, and avenged a pair of regular season losses to Kent State (23-10). Akron knocked off No. 5 seed Buffalo, No. 1 seed Toledo and the second-seeded Flashes to claim their first MAC tourney crown since 2013.

Sophomore forward Enrique Freeman, the 2022 MAC Tournament MVP, led four Zips in double figures with 23 points (8-of-10 field goals) and also grabbed a team-high eight boards. Junior guard Xavier Castaneda finished with 15 points and five steals while playing suffocating defense on MAC Player of the Year Sincere Carry.

MAC Tournament live updates: Akron pulls away from Kent State to win MAC Tournament final

Sophomore wing Ali Ali produced 15 points and four assists, while freshman guard Garvin Clarke drained 3-of-5 3-pointers for 11 points.

Senior forward Justyn Hamilton led Kent State with 19 points (8-of-10 field goals) and eight rebounds. He was the lone KSU player in double figures. Carry finished with a season-low six points (2-of-11 field goals) and a season-high nine turnovers.

The Flashes were forced to play the first half without junior guard Malique Jacobs (7 points, 4 assists, 3 rebounds), their leading scorer in the first two games of the MAC Tournament with 40 points. Jacobs was one of four players disciplined by the MAC for their roles in a video with a racial epithet, vulgar language and taunting that surfaced on social media.

Kent State jumped out to a 10-3 lead, and was up 13-6 on the strength of 11 early second-chance points. But those opportunities dried up, and the Zips began to settle in after Ali and Dawson drained 3-pointers.

A Clarke 3 put Akron up 23-20, then Castaneda gave Carry his seventh turnover and notched his fourth steal when he ripped the ball away at midcourt and hit a layup.

The Flashes only managed three points in the final 4:56, on Hamilton’s second 3-pointer of the season, as Akron pushed its lead out to 34-25 at the half.

Carry finished the first half with three points on 1-of-7 shooting from the field, with two assists compared to the seven giveaways. Meanwhile Ali scored nine points and hit 2-of-3 3s for the Zips, who were 5-of-11 from distance overall.

With Jacobs back in the lineup the Flashes started the second half on an 8-0 run. A Carry 3 with an assist from Jacobs cut Akron’s lead to 34-33 with 17:54 remaining.

But the Zips quickly regained control behind a pair of 3s from Clarke and another by Castaneda. Then an 11-0 spurt put Akron in complete command, up 56-39 with under eight minutes remaining after a layup by Freeman. The issue was never in doubt the rest of the way.

Akron will receive its seeding and opening matchup for the 2022 NCAA Tournament Sunday night at 6 p.m.

This article originally appeared on Record-Courier: Akron beats Kent State in MAC tourney, headed to NCAA Tournament