AKRON - The Miami Redskins' up-and-down ride through the Mid-American Conference ended Saturday with a 66-52 victory over Akron and the school's 19th MAC championship - a shared title with Bowling Green.
Miami will play host to a Mid-American Conference tournament quarterfinal game against Kent State (9-17) at 8 p.m. Tuesday.
Miami is the tournament's second seed after losing a coin flip with Bowling Green on Saturday.
The Redskins swept Kent in the regular season, 64-57 at Kent and 73-60 at Millett Hall.
If Miami wins, it would play the winner of the Western Michigan-Ohio game in the semifinals in Toledo on Friday.
Miami, in fourth place in the MAC as recently as two weeks ago, won its fifth consecutive game to tie Bowling Green at 13-5 for the MAC co-championship. Ohio University, which could have forged a three-way tie, was upset by Western Michigan on Saturday.
''It looked a little bleak there for a while,'' said forward Devin Davis, ''but everything's great now.''
Much of the credit for the Redskins' late-season surge can go to Davis. The senior forward had his third straight double-double Saturday - 19 points and 15 rebounds - and anchored a defense that held Akron without a field goal for the final 11:37 of the first half.
''This has been a great week for Devin Davis,'' said Miami coach Charlie Coles, who won his second MAC title, the first at Central Michigan.
''My senior year, and we're at the end of the season,'' said Davis. ''I had to pick it up somewhere.''
Having sealed their second MAC title in three seasons and fourth in the 1990s, the Redskins turn their attention to Kent State.
''We just tied for a MAC championship, but now I'm already scared about Tuesday,'' Coles said. ''I know how our league has been this year. I know it's going to be a very tough game.''
''If we stick together and play hard like we've been, I think we'll be (tourney) champions,'' Davis said.
Miami (18-8 overall) put Saturday's game out of reach with a 12-4 run that opened a 16-point lead.
MAC BRACKET
MIAMI (18-8) -
Szczerbiak 5-12 5-6 16, Davis 6-18 7-10 19, Newble 4-7 0-0 8, Mestas 2-7 0-1 4, Frierson 4-10 4-4 12, Henderson 1-2 0-0 3, Johnson 0-0 0-0 0, Allen 0-0 0-0 0, Taylor 2-4 0-0 4. Totals 24-60 16-21 66.
AKRON (8-18) -
Phillips 2-12 0-0 5, Moore 1-1 1-2 3, Hahn 6-12 2-3 14, Benton 3-5 2-2 10, Ball 2-14 5-5 10, Gooden 1-4 2-2 4, Minor 0-4 3-4 3, Kart 0-1 3-5 3. Totals 15-53 18-23 52.
Halftime-Miami, Ohio 29, Akron 21. 3-point goals-Miami, Ohio 2-8 (Henderson 1-1, Szczerbiak 1-3, Davis 0-1, Mestas 0-1, Frierson 0-2), Akron 4-24 (Benton 2-3, Phillips 1-6, Ball 1-9, Gooden 0-2, Minor 0-4). Fouled out-Newble. Rebounds-Miami, Ohio 47 (Davis 15), Akron 31 (Hahn 11). Assists-Miami, Ohio 13 (Mestas 4), Akron 9 (Phillips, Moore, Benton, Gooden 2). Total fouls-Miami, Ohio 18, Akron 16. Technical fouls-Akron bench. A-3,774.
