CLEVELAND — For Cinderella — oops, the Bowling Green State University men’s basketball team — midnight struck in the semifinals of the Mid-American Conference tournament.
The 12th-seeded Falcons, who became the lowest-seeded team ever to make the tournament semifinals, hung with top-seeded Akron for a time. Then the Zips used a key four-minute stretch of the second half to build a double-digit lead, and BG eventually fell 80-66 at Quicken Loans Arena on Friday.
But while the Falcons lost to Akron for the third time this season — not to mention the 16th straight time and 24th time in 25 meetings — Zips coach Keith Dambrot noticed a difference in this BG squad from the one his team spanked twice during the regular season.