KENT, Ohio -- Danny Pippen had 20 points and 12 rebounds as Kent State narrowly defeated Akron 68-67 on Friday night in the Wagon Wheel Showdown.

Philip Whittington tipped in the go-ahead basket with 20 seconds left. After a timeout, Akron dribbed down the clock before Channel Banks missed a contested 3-pointer at the buzzer.

Antonio Williams had 17 points for Kent State (16-6, 6-3 Mid-American Conference). Whittington and Troy Simons each had 11 points. Kent State leads the all-time series 78-75.

Loren Cristian Jackson had 19 points for the Zips (16-6, 6-3). Xeyrius Williams added 15 points and 10 rebounds, and Tyler Cheese had 15 points, six rebounds and six assists.

Kent State plays Ball State at home on Tuesday. Akron takes on Eastern Michigan at home next Saturday.

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Elements of this story were generated by Automated Insights, http://www.automatedinsights.com/ap, using data from STATS LLC, https://www.stats.com