Enrique Freeman scored 23 points and grabbed eight rebounds Saturday night to lead fourth-seeded Akron to its eighth straight win, 75-55 over second-seeded Kent State in the final of the Mid-American Conference tournament in Cleveland.
With the win, Akron (24-9) advances to the NCAA Tournament. The Zips shot 52.6 percent (10 of 19) from 3-point range.
Justyn Hamilton led the Golden Flashes (23-10) with 19 points and eight rebounds. Kent State had its 14-game winning streak stopped.
Mountain West Conference
San Diego State missed two scoring opportunities in the final 10 seconds, sending top seed Boise State to a 53-52 win in the Mountain West tournament final in Las Vegas. Tyson Degenhart hit a jumper with 2:20 left in the second half to give Boise State (27-7) a 53-50 lead, but San Diego State’s Matt Bradley responded with a basket at the 1:51 mark to cut the lead to one. But Bradley, who led all scorers with 17, missed a jumper and a layup with eight seconds left, and Trey Pulliam missed a jumper with one second left. Degenhart topped the Broncos with 13 points. The third-seeded Aztecs fell to 23-8.
America East Conference
Vermont walloped UMBC 82-43 in Burlington, Vt., to win the America East title, sending the Catamounts to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2019. The top-seeded Catamounts (28-5) were led by Ryan Davis, the unanimous league player of the year, who scored 20 points and grabbed five rebounds. With 10 points, Darnell Rogers was the only player to reach double figures for UMBC (18-14), which shot just 27.8 percent from the field.
Mideastern Athletic Conference
Top-seeded Norfolk State (24-6) ended an impressive run by Coppin State (9-23) with a 72-57 victory in the MEAC tournament final in Norfolk, Va. Joe Bryant Jr. scored a game-high 23 points and Jalen Hawkins added 17 for the Spartans, who won a First Four game in last season’s NCAA Tournament before losing to No. 1 seed Gonzaga in the first round.
Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference
No. 2 seed Saint Peter’s (19-11) held No. 4 Monmouth (21-13) at bay to earn the auto-bid out of the MAAC with a 60-54 win in Atlantic City, N.J. A big scoring day from guard Doug Edert (20 points, including 8-for-9 from the free throw line) paced the Peacocks, who made it back to the NCAA Tournament for the first time since 2011 and just the fourth time ever. The Peacocks are winless (0-3) in the tournament.
Southwestern Athletic Conference
John Walker III came off the bench to score a team-high 17 points as second-seeded Texas Southern (18-12) routed top-seeded Alcorn State 87-62 in the SWAC tournament final to reach the NCAA Tournament. Justin Thomas led Alcorn State (17-16) with 18 points.
Big Sky Conference
Xavier Bishop finished with 19 points and eight assists to lead Montana State to the Big Sky tournament title, 87-66 over Northern Colorado in Boise, Idaho. The Bobcats (27-7) shot 51.9 percent from the floor and 55.6 percent on 3-pointers. Daylen Kountz scored 20 points but went only 5 of 15 from the floor for the Bears (20-15).
Conference USA
Jordan Walker finished with 27 points, including 18 in the first half, as UAB built a 10-point lead in the first half and went on to defeat Louisiana Tech 82-73 for the Conference USA tournament title in Frisco, Texas. Walker added six rebounds and four assists for the second-seeded Blazers (27-7). Kenneth Lofton Jr. scored 23 points on 11-of-18 shooting for the third-seeded Bulldogs (24-10).
Southland Conference
Jalen Jackson and Terrion Murdix scored 13 point apiece, and De’Lazarus Keys added 12 as Texas A&M Corpus Christi captured the Southland Conference tournament title with a 73-65 win over SE Louisiana. The fourth-seeded Islanders (23-11) went only 7-7 in the conference during the regular season. Keon Clergeot led the second-seeded Lions (19-14) with 18 points.
Western Athletic Conference
Top-seeded New Mexico State built a nine-point lead by halftime and led by double digits for most of the second half in beating Abilene Christian for the Western Athletic Conference tournament title in Las Vegas. Clayton Henry finished with 15 points and eight rebounds to lead the top-seeded Aggies (26-6). Coryon Mason scored 14 points for the sixth-seeded Wildcats (23-10), who had a five-game winning streak snapped.
Big West Conference
E.J. Anosike scored 22 points, including 13 in the second half and four late free throws, as top-seeded Cal State Fullerton (21-10) held on to defeat second-seeded Long Beach State 72-71 and capture the Big West Conference tournament title in Henderson, Nev. Joel Murray racked up 24 points on 9-of-15 shooting, including five points in the final 2:11, but the Beach (19-8) couldn’t overcome a late five-point deficit.
–Field Level Media
