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Late shot by McKnight, miss by WMU's Kool lifts Akron in MAC semis, 66-64
March 13, 2010
By Tom Withers
Associated Press
CLEVELAND — Chris McKnight scored on a putback with 6.8 seconds left and defending champion Akron survived one last shot by Western Michigan’s David Kool for a 66-64 win Friday night to advance to the final of the Mid-American Conference Tournament.
McKnight grabbed a miss by Steve McNees underneath and scored to put the Zips (24-9) ahead. Kool, who finished with a career-high 39 points, then missed a potential game-tying jumper just before the horn.
Akron, which needed double-overtime to get past Eastern Michigan in the quarterfinals, will be making its fourth consecutive trip to the final.
Kool, the conference player of the year, went 12-of-21, made five 3-pointers and didn’t miss any of his 10 free throws for the Broncos. He scored 23 of Western Michigan’s 33 points in the second half.
Down by 12 early in the second half, the Broncos (18-15) refused to buckle. Kool wouldn’t let them.
After he and Nate Hutcheson hit consecutive 3-pointers, Kool ran in front of Western Michigan’s cheering section and yelled, “Let’s go, baby! We’re here!”
That they were, and when Kool stepped back and coolly dropped a baseline 3-pointer with a hand in his face, Western Michigan had tied it at 54 with 8:27 remaining. Moments later, Kool fought his way through several defenders and hit a layup to give the Broncos their first lead at 58-56.
Martelle McLemore’s basket put Western Michigan up 64-61 lead with 1:34 left, but McKnight hit a 3-pointer with 1:09 to play that tied it and set up a frantic final minute.
In one stretch, Kool scored 21 of 24 points for the Broncos, but the senior guard’s turnover with 43 seconds left set up Akron’s last possession.
McNees then drove the lane and missed a layup on the left side, but McKnight was able to get control on the other side of the rim and banked it in. Kool came down and had an open look from about 15 feet, but his shot hit the back of the rim. He stood and watched helplessly as his long rebound hit the floor and Akron’s bench stormed onto the court in celebration.
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