In a wild finish that had three lead changes in the final minute, it was Akron getting the last bucket in a 77-76 victory over Northern Kentucky University on Saturday night at Truist Arena.
Enrique Freeman’s dunk with 3.6 seconds left was the game-winner for the Zips, Sam Vinson’s desperation 3-pointer at the buzzer unable to get off in time as the Norse dropped their second straight one-possession game to fall to 5-5 on the season.
The Norse led 73-70 after a Marques Warrick free throw with 1:36 to play. Akron’s Sammy Hunter tied it with a 3-pointer with 1:29 remaining. Vinson then hit 1-of-2 free throws with 44 seconds left to make it 74-73. Greg Tribble gave the Zips a 75-74 lead on a jumper with 32 seconds left. After a steal from Vinson, Trey Robinson’s putback with nine seconds remaining gave the Norse a 76-75 lead.
Akron (6-3) then went the length of the floor, Freeman collecting a bounce pass in the paint and finishing with a dunk over Keeyan Itejere. Vinson’s 3-point attempt was a split second after the final horn went off.
“Incredible college basketball game. Two teams that fought really, really hard and answered a lot back and forth,” Norse coach Darrin Horn said. “It was like a big-time heavyweight fight. Give Akron credit, they made one more great play to win the game.”
NKU was led by the trio of Warrick, Robinson and Vinson, the three combining for 60 points. Warrick had 30, Robinson with 20 and Vinson with 10. The Norse were limited on the bench when Cade Meyer exited after just two minutes of action.
Akron led by as much as nine in the first half before taking a 41-37 lead into the half. The Norse took their first lead since the 15:15 mark of the first half on a Robinson triple with 4:16 to play to make it 70-67 Norse. Misses from the free throw line proved costly for NKU, going 14-of-24 from the charity stripe, including three misses in the final 3:02 of the game.
Akron shot 58% from the field in the game, 66% in the second half as they hit 14-of-21 in the game’s final 20 minutes. Freeman finished with 21 points and 10 rebounds.
Robinson led the Norse with seven rebounds, Vinson collecting four steals.
The Norse return to action on Thursday when they host University of the Cumberlands at 7 p.m.