Georgia State: 2018-19 Sun Belt Men's Basketball Champions

NEW ORLEANS -- Normally talkative Georgia State coach Ron Hunter announced that he couldn't linger long at his postgame media conference following the Sun Belt Conference title game.

He had a six-hour party to attend, he said, referring to the bus ride back to Atlanta from New Orleans.

Malik Benlevi scored 16 points and grabbed 11 rebounds, and Georgia State advanced to a second straight NCAA Tournament with a 73-64 victory over Texas-Arlington in the Sun Belt Conference Tournament final on Sunday.

"This is about to be the best party bus you have ever seen," Hunter said. "We're not going to a restaurant. I cancelled it. We're not going to a hotel. I cancelled it. We're getting with my team. We're getting with our families. We're getting on a bus and you're going to hear us all around the country."

The top-seeded Panthers (24-9) also demonstrated they are no longer the one-man show they were a year ago, when they relied on D'Marcus Simonds' 27 points to win the 2018 conference title game. This time, Simonds was held to 10 points, but Georgia State had the balance to withstand that. Benlevi punished UTA from outside with four 3-pointers, while Damon Wilson scored 13 points, Kane Williams 12, and Jeff Thomas 11, putting all five starters in double figures.

"We are a dangerous team to play because of how we play," Hunter said. "What people are doing, they're game-planning for D'Marcus and it's the wrong thing to do. I've got good players.

"That's why I hope whoever we're playing in the NCAA Tournament, they're doing the exact same thing."

Edric Dennis scored 12 points and Brian Warren 11 for Texas-Arlington (17-16), which has now come within one victory of a trip to the NCAA Tournament in two straight seasons, only to fall short against the same foe.

The game was a rematch of last year's Sun Belt final, albeit in name only because Texas-Arlington had a different coach and five different starters a year ago. Only one current UTA player -- reserve D.J. Bryant -- even played in the 2018 final.

Texas-Arlington was as close as 64-60 when Warren's jumper went down with 2:10 to go, but the Panthers made enough free throws and grabbed enough defensive rebounds from there on to close the game out comfortably. Georgia State coach Ron Hunter started subbing out starters -- and hugging them as they came to the bench -- with a minute to go.

But UTA's real downfall was a shooting drought of 23 straight missed field goals spanning the last 10 minutes of the first half and more than the first five minutes of the second before TiAndre Jackson-Young hit a 3 with 14:46 left to trim Georgia State's lead to 43-34.

"That'll get you beat," UTA coach Chris Ogden said. "I knew we were going through droughts and we were trying different things. We had some looks that we didn't hit, but when they made the plays at the rim, I just thought it affected our overall aggression and they did a good job of contesting shots. They did, so give them credit."

AWAITED ACCOLADE

Benlevi, a 6-foot-6 senior, was named the tournament's outstanding player after garnering few other accolades during his four-year career.

"Four years I've been playing the Sun Belt and never made All-Conference. I feel like I've been snubbed two years in a row," he said. "So, I'm feeling good."

MOMENTUM SHOT

Texas-Arlington raced to a 12-4 lead as Patrick Mwamba scored seven early points and led 23-19 after Warren's 3 with 10:10 left in the first half. But after that, the Mavericks missed their last 13 shots of the half.

Georgia State surged into the lead for good with a 13-1 run highlighted by Williams' 3 as he was fouled.

"It was very big. I think it was a momentum swinger," Williams said of his four-point play. "After that, I feel like we got the tide rolling and everybody picked up the pace and we started getting the energy flowing ... It was a big-time play."

BIG PICTURE

Texas-Arlington: In its second appearance in the Sun Belt title game since joining the league in 2013-14, UTA again fell short of what would have been its second trip to the NCAA Tournament.

Georgia State: After winning its third Sun Belt tournament title in five years, GSU enters the NCAA Tournament having won five straight and eight of nine.

UP NEXT

Texas-Arlington: Although the Mavericks were the No. 2 seed in the Sun Belt, finishing just one game above .500 overall likely ends their season without a bid to any postseason invitational tournaments.

Georgia State: The Panthers await their seeding in the NCAA Tournament.

Kent State: 2016-17 Mid-American Men's Basketball Champions

CLEVELAND -- There was nothing easy, nothing routine about Kent State's trip to the NCAA Tournament.

The Golden Flashes took the toughest road possible.

Jaylin Walker scored 30 points, Jimmy Hall added 19 and sixth-seeded Kent State earned its first NCAA berth since 2008 by beating rival Akron in the Mid-American Conference championship game Saturday night to cap a six-day stretch as mad as March can get.

Since Monday, the Golden Flashes took down the nation's leading scorer in overtime, knocked off the two-time defending tournament champions and then beat the top two seeds in 24 hours to win the title.

And if that wasn't enough, they have bragging rights over their hated next-door neighbors who now have to watch them play in the NCAAs.

"This really happened?" said Walker, the tournament MVP. "Our dreams really came true?"

Believe it, Kent State

Coming together when it mattered most, the Golden Flashes (22-13) completed their remarkable journey by beating the top three seeds -- Buffalo, Ohio and Akron -- in succession to win their sixth conference title. They barely advanced to Cleveland, needing overtime to edge 11th-seeded Central Michigan in the opening round.

But Kent State found its groove inside Quicken Loans Arena and will enter the NCAA field as a team to keep an eye on. The Golden Flashes are athletic, play solid defense and in Hall have one of the most underrated players around.

"We knew if we played Kent State basketball that we would be able to do this," an emotional Hall said. "It feels amazing."

Isaiah Johnson scored 24 and Jimond Ivey 18 as the top-seeded Zips (26-8) had their postseason dreams dashed by their bitter rivals, who ended their 30-game home winning streak just 22 days ago and handed them their second straight loss in the final.

"I feel sick for our guys because they had a terrific season and that's just the reality of this league," Akron coach Keith Dambrot said. "If you have an average night when it really matters, the regular season kind of goes out the window. I'm a big boy, I can take it, but I really feel bad for all the work our guys put in because we just can't go to the Big Dance.

"They made all the plays in the last eight minutes. We didn't, and just feel bad for our kids."

The third game in three weeks between the schools separated by 11 miles lived up to its reputation as the MAC's best and fiercest rivalry. Underscoring the competitiveness, Kent State leads the all-time series 75-73.

Trailing much of the game, Akron, which will likely have to watch the NCAA Tournament at home, pulled even at 49-all with nine minutes to go on a 3-pointer by Josh Williams.

But Kent State wasn't going to be denied as Walker, the fearless sophomore guard from Detroit, scored six points during a 10-0 run that put the Golden Flashes in control.

Following the game, Kent State coach Rob Senderoff was rattling off Hall's accomplishments, unaware that Walker was selected MVP.

When the final horn sounded, Hall, who was in foul trouble in the first half, flung the ball toward Kent State's basket before climbing over a row of chairs and press tables to hug his mom in the stands.

It was a passionate outpouring by Hall and all the Golden Flashes, who had their ups and downs during a season that isn't over.

"Everything just came out," Hall said of seeing his mom. "I wanted to thank her for having me, raising me and believing in me."

Kent State has a few more believers.

TOUGHER SCHEDULES

MAC Commissioner Jon Steinbrecher thinks the league's schools need to do a better job scheduling outside the conference to build resumes and make them more attractive for multiple NCAA bids.

The conference hasn't had two teams make the NCAA field since 1999.

"It's who you play and who you beat," he said. "We've got to move that needle up. You've got to go out and figure out a way to get it done."

BLOOD LINES

Dambrot is from a rich basketball background.


His uncle, Irwin, played for the 1950 City College of New York team that won both the NCAA Tournament and NIT in the same season -- the only school to pull off that double-double. Irwin Dambrot was also chosen MVP of that NCAA tourney and selected in the first round by the New York Knicks in the NBA draft.

BIG PICTURE

Kent State: It was a nice turnaround for the Golden Flashes, who started 1-4 in conference play and missed getting a first-round bye because of a home loss to Akron on March 3.

Akron: The Zips have won at least 21 games in 12 straight seasons under Dambrot, something only accomplished during that span by Gonzaga, Kansas and Duke.

UP NEXT

Kent State: The Golden Flashes will watch Sunday's NCAA selection show to see where they're headed.

Akron: An NIT bid is likely for the regular-season conference champions.