Kent State's Julius Rollins fouled out at the worst possible time in Saturday night's MAC Championship game.
Rollins fouled Akron's Greg Tribble with six seconds left and his team led 61-60. Rollins' foul came after Cli'Ron Hornbeak hit a red flag in the lane to give the Golden Flashes the lead.
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Rollins clearly thought his team was still behind after Hornbreak's jump. As the rest of his teammates returned to defence, he rushed off to draw a foul, thinking his team needed another possession.
It didn't happen. Tribble made two free throws to give Akron a 62-61 lead, which held when Jalen Sullinger missed the winning attempt before the buzzer.
We've all made mental mistakes at some point in our lives, and it's extremely unfortunate that Rollins' mistake came when his team was so close to making the NCAA Tournament. Kent State went 8-10 in the MAC in 2023-24 and beat Toledo and Bowling Green for a chance to reach the NCAA Tournament for the second straight season.
Instead, Akron earned the conference's only postseason berth and is headed to its second NCAA Tournament in the past three seasons.
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