Akron and Kent State battled once again in front of packed Rocket Arena, filled with 10,936 passionate and vocal Golden Flashes and Zips fans for the MAC Tournament semifinal matchup. 

“Cleveland does such a great job. Obviously, I had two different stints in this league and say this has not been around for a while in different venues and different competitive tournaments, but this one’s about as good as any of them,” said Akron head coach John Groce.

Despite the tough 75-68 loss, the sentiment was echoed by Kent State head coach Rob Senderoff 

“The only thing about the rivalry that makes it good is because the fans because it’s local,” said Senderoff. “Like if this game were held in Detroit, there’d be fans, but it wouldn’t be quite as great for the Kent, Akron.” 

The large crowd welcomed both teams with a fire and intensity for the MAC Tournament, an environment that could only be found in Rocket Arena.

“The tournament being in Cleveland allows all these fans to get here and the environment is great because of that,” said Senderoff. “We’re so close to Cleveland is what makes it awesome, and you get to play in the do or die, they’re playing for the NCAA Tournament, everything’s on the line here.” 

Everything was on the line for both teams, as Akron advances to face the Toledo Rockets in the MAC Championship game Saturday night.