MAC Tournament: Armon Bassett, Steve McNees Help Ohio, Akron Move On

Armon Bassett chose the right time to have the game of his life.

The junior guard poured in a career-high 38 points, and the Ohio Bobcats pulled off a stunning upset over top-seeded Kent State, 81-64, in the quarterfinals of the Mid-American Conference tournament Thursday in Cleveland.

Bassett played all 40 minutes and connected on all 16 of his free throws as the Bobcats (19-14) raced out to an early lead, and never looked back.

With Ohio's freshman sensation D.J. Cooper in foul trouble, junior forward DeVaughn Washington was 8-for-8 from the field and had 19 points. Chris Singletary led Kent State (23-9) with 19.

Ohio’s win dashed Kent State’s dream of a spot in the NCAA Tournament. The Flashes will head to the NIT, having earned an automatic bid from their regular-season conference title.

Meanwhile, Akron’s Steve McNees nailed a stunning three-pointer with 0.8 seconds remaining in the first overtime, and the Zips (23-9) outlasted Eastern Michigan for a 97-89 win in Thursday’s third quarterfinal game.

Akron held an identical eight-point lead at the half, and stretched it to 14 with a 6-0 run to start the second stanza. But EMU’s Carlos Medlock got hot and stayed that way, keeping the Eagles (17-15) within striking distance. Medlock finished the game with 42 points.

After McNees’ heroics, the Zips scored the first nine points of the second overtime to seal the victory. McNees, with 18 points, led Akron's five players in double figures.

In the other two quarterfinal games Thursday, Western Michigan’s David Kool warmed up in the second half and finished with 26 points to lead the Broncos to an upset over second-seeded Central Michigan, 69-60, while Miami ran away from Buffalo, 73-59, behind Kenny Hayes’ 27 points.

Matchups for Friday’s semifinal games at Quicken Loans Arena:

(7) Western Michigan vs. (3) Akron, 7 p.m.
(9) Ohio vs. (4) Miami, 9 p.m.

The championship game is scheduled for Saturday at 6 p.m. Complete information, including audio and video of post-game comments and live streaming of games, is available at the tournament website .