KENT, Ohio - Jaylin Walker nearly matched the 30 points he dropped on Akron in last year's Mid-American Conference Championship game and Jalen Avery took over at the end of Saturday's rivalry renewal as the Golden Flashes held off the arch-rival Zips for a 78-68 victory at the M.A.C. Center.
Akron pulled ahead late with a 17-4 run and had Kent State mired in a field-goal drought of more than eight minutes before a Walker three-pointer from the right wing with 5:38 to play. Still trailing at the 4:47 mark, Avery drilled a three from the same spot on the floor, igniting a stretch that saw the point guard score all of his 16 points in the game's closing minutes.