Akron Wins MAC Championship (Photo: Jeff Harwell-Zips Sports Photography)

MAC Regular Season Standings East Division 1 Akron 10-6 22-12 2 Buffalo 11-5 21-10 2 Bowling Green 11-5 19-13 4 Miami, OH 10-6 17-13 4 Kent St. 10-6 19-14 6 Ohio 7-9 15-17 West Division 1 Ball St. 7-9 14-17 1 Cent.Michigan 7-9 12-19 1 W.Michigan 7-9 10-21 4 E.Michigan 6-10 8-24 5 N.Illinois 5-11 10-20 5 Toledo 5-11 7-25

Univ. of Akron 2008-09

Dambrot Roberts Linhart McKnight McNees Bardo 12 Roberts Darryl 5'11'' (180) G 33 Linhart Nate 6'7'' (201) F 30 McKnight Chris 6'7'' (201) F 4 McNees Steve 6'2'' (188) G 1 Steward Ronnie 5'10'' (178) G 54 Bardo Mike 6'10'' (208) C 23 McKnight Brett 6'6'' (198) F 15 Carroll Tim 6'3'' (191) F 32 Conyers Jimmy 6'5'' (196) F 14 Coblentz Eric 6'2'' (188) G 40 Swiech Steve 6'9'' (206) C 13 Cvetinovic Nikola 6'8'' (203) F 24 Hitchens Anthony 5'9'' (175) G 42 Parrish Andrew 6'8'' (203) F 2 Petersen Kyle 6'4'' (193) G 3 Sullivan Alex 5'10'' (178) G 5 McClanahan Brett 6'4'' (193) G

Akron defeated Buffalo, 65-53, in the Mid-American Conference men's basketball championship Saturday night at Quicken Loans Arena.
Four players hit double figures for Akron (23-12) as the Zips secured an automatic berth in the NCAA Tournament for just the second time in the program's Division I era. Akron—playing in its third straight MAC Championship—won six of its last eight games, two of those victories over Buffalo.
Brett McKnight (6'6''-F) led all scorers with 16 points, coming on 4-of-9 shooting from the field and 6-of-10 free throws. Chris McKnight (6'7''-F-87) added 12 points, while Anthony Hitchens (5'9''-G) and Darryl Roberts (5'11'') added 10 apiece. Nate Linhart (6'7''-F) (six points) led all rebounders with nine. Coming in as the second-best scoring offense in the league, the Zips shot 55.3 percent (21-of-38) from the floor, including 11-of-20 (55 percent) before halftime. Akron used 8-of-14 (57.1 percent) shooting from long distance to continue its fourth straight 20-win season. Owning an eight-point lead at the half, Akron continued its hot shooting out of the break. Steve McNees (6'2''-G) capped a 10-2 outburst that saw the Zips make four of their first six shots, and that 43-27 lead would grow to as many as 18 points with 13:09 left in regulation. A completed 3-point play by Max Boudreau (6'7''-F-85) (eight points, five rebounds) could have made it an eight-point game with 3:13 left, but a missed free throw followed by Darryl Roberts' second 3-pointer pushed the lead back to 12.
Two players reached double figures for Buffalo (21-11), led by Calvin Betts (6'3''-G-87) and Greg Gamble (6'4''-G/F-87). UB, as the top rebounding team in the league, won the battle of the boards, 34-27, but fell to 19-5 when it outrebounds its opponent. The Akron defense held one of the league's top 3-point shooting teams to just 18.8 percent (3-of-16) from behind the arc. Buffalo committed 15 turnovers, translating into 18 Zips points. Akron caught fire from long range from the very start, hitting on 5-of-7 (71.4 percent) threes in the first half. UA was true on its first five 3-pointers, including one by McNees that gave the Zips a 20-12 advantage at the 7:20 mark of the first half. Akron did not miss a triple until 3:04 left in the first period. Hitchens and Brett McKnight sparked the Akron reserves, combining for all 20 points off the bench in the first half, scoring 10 apiece. UA, tops in the MAC in 3-point field goal defense, held the Bulls without a triple until Rodney Pierce (6'2''-G-87) made the score 24-20. Hitchens and McKnight then scored the next seven UA points to give the Zips a 10-point lead, their largest of the period. Gamble opened the scoring and turned in seven of the Bulls first eight points in their first MAC title game since 2005. Hitchens, seeing his first action since early in Thursday's quarterfinal, came off the bench 3:59 into the game and immediately scored five straight points for Akron. The Zips scored eight of their first 12 points off four UB turnovers.
Courtesy of mac sports


Tournament Final: Buffalo - Akron 65-53
Tournament Semifinals:
Bowling Green - Akron 55-63
Ball St. - Buffalo 52-64

MAC All-Tournament MVP: Nate Linhart of Akron

MAC All-Tournament Team
Nate Linhart of Akron
Brett McKnight of Akron
Steve McNees of Akron
Max Boudreau of Buffalo
Nate Miller (6'4''-F-87) of Bowling Green State University of Bowling Green

All-MAC 1st Team 2008-09

Bramos Fisher Miller Pierce Tillman

All-MAC 1st Team
Michael Bramos (6'5''-G/F-87) of Miami
Al Fisher (6'1''-G-86) of Kent State
Nate Miller of Bowling Green
Rodney Pierce of Buffalo
Jerome Tillman (6'6''-F-87) of Ohio

All-MAC 2nd Team
Darion Anderson (6'2''-G-87) of Northern Illinois
Brandon Bowdry (6'6''-F-88) of Eastern Michigan
Brett McKnight of Akron
Tyrone Kent (6'5''-G/F-86) of Toledo
David Kool (6'3''-G-87) of Western Michigan

All-MAC Honorable Mention
Michael Allen (6'0''-G-87) of Ohio
Tyler Dierkers (6'8''-F/C) of Miami
Greg Gamble of Buffalo
Jarrod Jones (6'9''-F-90) of Ball State
Brandon Lampley (6'0''-G-86) of Ball State
Nate Linhart of Akron
Chris McKnight of Akron
Brian Moten (6'4''-G-86) of Bowling Green
Chris Singletary (6'4''-G-88) of Kent State
Marcus Vanderheide (6'7''-F/C-85) of Central Michigan

MAC All-Freshman Team
Anthony Hitchens of Akron
Jarrod Jones of Ball State
Mike Dinunno (5'11''-G-90) of Northern Illinois
Steven Coleman (6'4''-G) of Ohio
Flenard Whitfield (6'7''-F-90) of Western Michigan

MAC Player of the Year: Michael Bramos of Miami
MAC Defensive Player of the Year: Nate Linhart of Akron
MAC Freshman of the Year: Jarrod Jones of Ball State
MAC Sixth Man of the Year: Brett McKnight of Akron
MAC Coach of the Year: Louis Orr of Bowling Green