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CLEVELAND -- The No. 2-seeded Ohio men's basketball team (20-11, 11-7 MAC) suffered a heartbreaking 68-66 loss to No. 6-seeded Kent State (21-13, 10-8 MAC) in the 2017 Mid-American Conference Tournament presented by VisitMyrtleBeach.com Semifinal on Friday (March 10) at Quicken Loans Arena.

The Bobcats fell despite a 25-point effort from redshirt junior guard Jaaron Simmons (Dayton, Ohio) and a 16-point performance by redshirt senior forward Kenny Kaminski (Medina, Ohio).

"We lost a hard-fought battle tonight," said third-year head coach Saul Phillips. "I thought we made the plays to win it. Didn't go our way. We're not going to make an excuse. I don't think I've had a group that showed the resiliency and togetherness throughout this whole process. Every fiber of my being is proud of what they accomplished."

Ohio led by four after a jumper by Simmons with just over 17 minutes to go, but a trey by Kent State senior guard Deon Edwin gave the Golden Flashes a 43-42 edge with just under 14 minutes to play.

The Bobcats bent but refused to break, as Kent State never led by more than five over the ensuing 8:26. Sophomore guard Jordan Dartis (Newark, Ohio) hit a jumper in the paint to cut the Golden Flashes' advantage down to one at 55-54 with 5:33 left. A trey by junior guard Kevin Zabo but Kent State back up by four, but Simmons answered with a layup to make it a two-point game again. 

It looked as though the Golden Flashes had delivered two blows that Ohio would not be able to recover from, though, as Zabo and sophomore guard Jalen Avery hit back-to-back three-pointers to make it 64-58 with 2:14 to go. Simmons kept the Bobcats alive, however, but knocking down a jumper with two minutes left, then sinking a triple 27 seconds later to cut Ohio's deficit to three.

Freshman forward Jason Carter (Johnstown, Ohio) picked up his fifth foul with 1:02 remaining, sending senior forward Jimmy Hall to the free throw line for the Golden Flashes. Hall made a pair of free throws to put Kent State back up by five, but Simmons was fouled by Zabo on the ensuing possession. Simmons made the first free throw but missed the second. Sophomore forward Doug Taylor (Columbus, Ohio) came down with a huge offensive board off of the missed freebie, though, and Dartis found Kaminski for a three-pointer with 48 seconds to go that made it a one-point game at 66-65. Avery bricked a three-pointer with 22 seconds left, and Dartis came up with a rebound. Kent State opted to foul Simmons with 10 seconds to play. Simmons tied the game by making the first but missed the second. Sophomore guard Jaylin Walker got the rebound for Kent State, then hit a jumper with four seconds on the clock to put the Golden Flashes in the lead. Ohio was unable to get off a potential game-tying or winning shot on the ensuing possession, ending the game.

"They did a good job on defense, and I thought I had a little more time and tried to kick it out just because I wasn't open at all, and unfortunately we just didn't get a shot up at the rim," said Simmons.

The Bobcats led by as many as 10 points in the first half. Ohio put together a 16-6 run that made it a 32-22 lead for the Green & White with just over five minutes to before the break. Seven points from Simmons and a trey by Kaminski - his third triple of the first half - helped power the run. Momentum swung in favor of Kent State, though, when Carter picked up his second foul. The Golden Flashes went on a 10-0 run to even the score, with Hall accounting for four points and Avery and Zabo each draining three-pointers.

Simmons gave Ohio a second-straight 20-point effort and eighth of the 2016-17 season. He shot 10-of-20 from the field. Simmons also tallied a team-high seven rebounds, an assist, a block and a steal while playing all 40 minutes.

Kaminski went 5-of-12 from the floor -- including 4-of-7 from beyond the arc. He also posted four rebounds, three assists and a steal over 33 minutes of work.

"I never really thought there was a point in the game where I thought we were going to lose," said Kaminski. "Even when we were down there four seconds left or whatever it was, I still believed we were going to win."

With Carter in foul trouble, Taylor gave the Bobcats 19 solid minutes off of the bench, tallying eight points and six rebounds.

Hall led Kent State with a double-double, totaling a team-high 22 points and a game-high 10 rebounds. He also dished out a team-high four assists and a game-high two blocks as well as a steal over 38 minutes.

Zabo went 5-of-10 from the field -- including 4-of-6 from three-point land -- to provide the Golden Flashes with 15 points in 30 minutes off of the bench. He also collected a game-high three steals and handed out an assist.

Kent State advanced to the 2017 MAC Tournament Championship Game against No. 1-seeded Akron on Saturday (March 11) with the win over the Bobcats.

Stayed tuned to OhioBobcats.com in the coming days for any news regarding postseason opportunities for the Bobcats in 2017.