Sincere Carry powers Kent State to redemption win over Akron Zips

On Mar 4, 2023

Kent State's Julius Rollins celebrates hitting a three point shot against Akron during their game at the MAC Center in Kent on Friday. The flashes beat the Zips 89-84 in overtime.

KENT — When the Golden Flashes faced rival Akron the first time this season, they came out flat. The Zips led from wire to wire, and it felt as tho Kent State never really landed any punches in what ended up being a frustrating loss.

KSU senior Sincere Carry was determined to make sure it didn’t happen again. And while overtime was needed, he willed the Golden Flashes to an 89-84 win over the Zips at the M.A.C. Center with a game-high 35 points.

The win gave Kent State its 25th regular season win of the season, which tied a school record. It was also the Golden Flashes’ 22nd consecutive home win. And most importantly as it relates to this season, it locked up the No. 2 seed for Kent State (25-6, 15-3) in next week’s Mid-American Conference tournament. The Zips (21-10, 13-5) will be the No. 3 seed. Toledo earned the No. 1 seed with a win over Ball State.

After the Golden Flashes came out slow in the first matchup of the season, which Akron won 67-55, Carry led KSU to a 7-0 run to open the game Friday night. And after starting hot, he ended on a scorching note, pouring in 12 of his 35 points in overtime. That scoring flurry came after a controversial call at the end of regulation that gave Zips guard Xavier Castaneda three free throws, which tied the score with 4.4 seconds left.

In the wake of that foul call, and that the Golden Flashes didn’t get one at the other end of the floor as time expired despite some contact, KSU coach Rob Senderoff was later called for a technical foul, which gave the Zips two free throws to open the overtime period and, subsequently, their first lead of the night.

But from there, Carry took control of the game along with a tremendous night from forward Chris Payton (22 points off the bench on 9-of-10 shooting). Together, they delivered the Golden Flashes the redemption they had sought for a month, ever since they walked out of James A. Rhodes Arena on Feb. 3. As Carry stood at the line with the game in hand at the end of overtime, he received a chorus of “MVP, MVP” chants.

“Really, I’m just gonna go. I don’t really back down from anybody,” Carry said of the emotion he carried into Friday night. “I’m up for any challenge. I’m gonna talk, I’m gonna do something, and I’m gonna let you know it.”

But quickly, the attention turns solely to the MAC Tournament, and the conference title and automatic bid to the NCAA tournament that accompany its winner. After the Zips beat KSU on Feb. 3, some Akron players noted that they battled an emotional letdown in their next few games. If the Golden Flashes fall into that trap after winning such an emotional rivalry game, their season will end Thursday in Cleveland.

“We have to turn the page, and that’s always been difficult for teams after beating your rival, both teams, and I’ve been in this deal long enough to know the next game is always a really difficult game,” Senderoff said after the win, which gave KSU the all-time series lead over Akron 82-81. “So we have to make sure we’re really prepared for Thursday.”

The Zips have been powered all season by Castaneda and Enrique Freeman as the team’s top two scorers, with the role of a third, complementary scorer rotating from game to game. Friday night was a rare instance of Castaneda struggling offensively, as he scored 13 points but shot just 2-of-13 from the floor, including 1-of-10 from 3-point range.

Zips coach John Groce noted the team’s “grit” over the last week’s worth of games. And as Akron enters the tournament, it is perhaps a silver lining that the Zips took KSU to overtime on the road without one of their key two scorers playing well, though Castaneda did sink three key free throws to send it to overtime. Freeman finished with 25 points and 12 rebounds, and Sammy Hunter stepped into that scoring role with a team-high 26 points. While the result wasn’t what they wanted, the Zips showed they can battle anyone in the conference even on an off night from a key contributor.

“I thought Sammy, the last two games, has been that,” Groce said. “I think that’s a moving target for us, that third scorer. But the courage of Castaneda to step right up there and knock all three of ’em in, he’s a big time competitor.”