Courtesy: Thomas Oliver Photography Steve McNees converted a 3-pointer in the final seconds of regulation in the MAC Tournament championship game versus Ohio.

CLEVELAND – The third-seeded University of Akron men's basketball team fell to ninth-seeded Ohio 81-75 in overtime in the championship game of the Mid-American Conference Tournament on Saturday night at Quicken Loans Arena. The high-paced contest featured 13 ties and 24 lead changes.

Akron (24-10) tied the game with 6.8 seconds left in regulation on a 3-pointer by Steve McNees, but in overtime the Zips never led, falling behind on a layup by the Bobcat's DeVaughn Washington in the opening minute and were unable to manage more than a tie the rest of the way. Ohio (21-14) rebounded after McNees knotted the score at 75-all with 1:44 remaining in OT on another 3-pointer and held the Zips scoreless the rest of the way, while getting four points from Armon Bassett down the stretch to clinch the win.

Jimmy Conyers led the Zips with his eighth double-double of the season, posting 19 points and 12 rebounds, both team highs. Chris McKnight also recorded a double-double with 18 points and 10 boards, matching the double-double he posted against Ohio when the two teams met at Rhodes Arena on Feb. 14. Also scoring in double figures for Akron were McNees (12 points) and Darryl Roberts (11 points).

The score remained close throughout the first 10 minutes of the second half, with the Zips riding a 3-pointer from the left wing by McNees and a jump hook from the left block by Zeke Marshall to jump out to a 39-36 lead less than one minute into the stanza.

The Zips seized the lead back on a 3-pointer from the left corner by Roberts with 8:37 left in the half, but Bassett countered with a layup at the other end to put Ohio back in the lead, 54-53. The teams continued to swap the lead for the next few minutes until the Bobcats jumped out to a four-point edge on a layup by Bassett with 5:34 remaining, leading 61-57.

The Zips were active on the glass, outrebounding the Bobcats 48-42 and snaring 23 offensive rebounds, which led to 21 second-chance points. Additionally, UA had one of its better games of the season from the free-throw line, hitting 78.6 percent (11-of-14).

The game was a back-and-forth affair throughout the first half, with the largest lead in the opening frame belonging to the Zips, who led by five (20-15) after a layup by Roberts with 12:05 left. After the Bobcats closed to within two on a 3-pointer by D.J. Cooper, the two teams were never separated by more than three points for the final 11:57 of the period.

The Zips used an 11-2 advantage on points in the paint and a 21-15 rebounding margin to establish control on the interior, while the Bobcats leaned on 6-of-11 shooting from behind the arc.

Ohio, the lowest seed to ever win the league tournament, went into the locker room with a 36-34 edge after Cooper took an inbounds pass following two free throws by Chris McKnight and drove the length of the court for a buzzer-beating layup that was reviewed by the game officials and declared good.

UA shot 35.9 percent (28-of-78) from the field for the game, while OU made 46.7 percent (28-of-60) of its shots from the floor.

Bassett led all scorers with 25 points, including 5-of-9 marksmanship from 3-point range. Cooper tallied 23 points to compliment Bassett and also added six assists.

For UA, the game marks the first time since 1999 that a team has played two overtime games in a single MAC Tournament, when No. 5 seed Bowling Green played extra periods in both its quarterfinal and semifinal games. The Zips also became just the fourth team in MAC history to reach four-straight tournament championship games and the first since Kent State from 2001-04.

The Zips will now await word on their postseason fate, with brackets to be announced on Sunday.

Zips Notebook: Akron seniors Jimmy Conyers and Chris McKnight were named to the all-tournament team ... UA lost its first overtime game of the season, having entered the day 3-0 in contests that required an extra session (including a 2ot 97-89 win over Eastern Michigan in Thursday's quarterfinal) ... Akron has advanced itself to the championship game of the MAC Tournament in each of the last four seasons. Since 2008, the Zips are 8-2 in MAC postseason play and had a six-game win streak in the event snapped tonight ... Ohio took a 31-30 advantage in the all-time series with Akron ... With his one blocked shot, Zips' freshman center Zeke Marshall tallied his 59th rejection of the season and moved into sole possession of second place on the school's single-season chart.