Greg Tribble talks Akron Zips out of letting their MAC Tournament title hopes die | Ulrich

CLEVELAND — Greg Tribble Jr. had just five points, two assists and one rebound when the University of Akron senior guard fouled out with 1:55 left in Friday night's Mid-American Conference Tournament semifinal against Ohio University.

However, Tribble's leadership outweighed his modest statistical production.

Without the intangibles Tribble brings to Akron men's hoops, UA may not have been able to snap out of a horrid offensive slump in time to defeat Ohio 65-62 and advance to face rival Kent State University in the tournament championship game at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse.

Tribble's contributions behind the scenes serve as a valuable reminder. Talent and coaching aren't the only vital ingredients to tournament runs. Leadership should never be discounted.

Inspired by Tribble, second-seeded Akron (23-10) possessed the requisite resilience to redeem itself after a historically ugly half against No. 3 Ohio (20-13). A trip to the NCAA Tournament will be a stake against No. 8 Kent State (17-16).

Akron's Wagon Wheel foe has gotten hot and will undoubtedly present more tests. Tribble passed a huge one with UA in a tough spot against Ohio, which had split its 2023-24 regular-season series with Akron.

Someone needed to provide vocal leadership in Akron's locker room at halftime because the Zips shot 6 of 26 from the field and scored just 16 points in the first half. They only trailed by 10, largely because their defense delivered when their shots weren't falling, but they still desperately needed a spark and collective mental reset.

Their confidence could have easily been in shambles.

Akron's measly 16 points before halftime is believed to be the program's lowest total in a half since the Zips scored 14 in the second half of a 48-30 loss to Northern Illinois on Jan. 26, 1991, at Rhodes Arena.

Zips senior forward Enrique Freeman finished with a game-high 24 points and a MAC tourney single-game record 21 rebounds to go along with seven blocked shots, including a clutch one with 1:11 left to play.

The newly crowned MAC Player of the Year, Freeman is phenomenal. What he did on the court lifted the Zips after Tribble set the tone off it.

Tribble didn't attend the postgame news conference because, frankly, the box score didn't justify an appearance. But, in this case, don't believe the box score.

Each of Tribble's teammates who spoke from the dais — Freeman, senior guard Ali Ali and senior forward Sammy Hunter — singled him out by name because of the boost he gave them at halftime. The mentions were unsolicited.

“GT said in the locker room, 'Got to let that first half go, and our offense is going to come in the second half,'” Freeman said.

The Zips shot 16 of 30 from the field (53.3%) after halftime and finished 22 of 56 (39.3%) overall. For the sake of comparison, Ohio shot 22 of 61 (36.1%).

Despite Tribble's lack of points, Akron outscored Ohio by six during his 26 minutes on the floor. Tribble and Freeman were named to the MAC All-Defensive Team on Wednesday. If there were a MAC All-Leadership Team, they would be worthy of it, too.

“Greg's leadership tonight was super impactful,” Zips coach John Groce said. “Obviously, his play was as well, but just his voice, his calming influence, his talking to Tavari.”

Tavari is sophomore guard Tavari Johnson. He didn't score, but he managed the game well. He had three assists without a turnover in 17 minutes. UA outscored Ohio by eight points with him on the court.

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Before Groce even arrived in the locker room at halftime, he could hear Tribble spreading his words of wisdom to Johnson and others.

“They were very poised at halftime,” Groce said. “Greg's message was basically, 'Hey, keep defending the way that we did. It's the reason we're still in the game after a putrid offensive half, and we'll get our offense going. But don't let our foot off the gas on D.' [It's] a great message. When it comes from him, it's even more powerful to his teammates.”

Actions speak louder than words, yet there a times when a leader must emerge to rally a team in a different way.

Tribble did it for the Zips.

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Nate Ulrich can be reached at nulrich@thebeaconjournal.com. On Twitter: @ByNateUlrich.

This article originally appeared on Akron Beacon Journal: Greg Tribble's leadership lifts Akron men's basketball in MAC tourney