CLEVELAND – It appeared for the second time in three years Saturday night that Ohio and Akron might need overtime to settle the Mid-American Conference championship at Quicken Loans Arena.

However, a tip-in call was overturned and the Bobcats hung on for a 64-63 victory against the Zips to earn a spot in the NCAA Tournament.

Tournament MVP D.J. Cooper led the way with 23 points, six assists and four steals.

“It’s a great feeling,” Cooper said. "I haven’t had this feeling since two years ago. We worked hard all season. We worked through adversity. I just want to thank God and the coaches.”

Reggie Keely’s two free throws with six seconds left put the No. 3 seed Bobcats (27-7) up three, and rather than let the regular season champion Zips (22-11) have a shot at potential game-tying 3-pointer, they opted to foul Alex Abreu with two seconds to go.

Abreu made the first and tried to intentionally miss the second, the ball bouncing straight up into the air and coming back down through the hoop as Zeke Marshall leaped for an offensive rebound attempt.

Originally ruled a tip-in, officials took a long break and eventually determined the ball was not touched and actually was a made free throw.

“My assistant Dustin Ford is a pessimist,” Ohio coach John Groce said. “He said, I’m telling you, they’re going to count it. I said, ‘Dustin, it’s either a made free throw or a goaltend. But just in case, we drew up a play. … I just reminded them, ‘Don’t flinch.’ Just control what we can control.”

Instead, the Bobcats inbounded to Cooper, who missed the first free throw and then intentionally missed the second. Quincy Diggs gathered the rebound but his shot attempt from three-quarters court was not in time and well off the mark.

“I didn’t think the ball was tipped in, so I’m not going to really complain about it,” Akron coach Keith Dambrot said. “It is what it is really. In my view the ball wasn’t tipped in.

Abreu hit all five of his shot attempts from the field and made 6 of 7 free throws, finishing with 19 points to lead the Zips, playing in their sixth straight tournament championship game. Diggs scored 12 points, while Brian Walsh scored 10.

Nick Kellogg connected on three 3-pointers for nine points to match the output of Ivo Baltic. T.J. Hall and Reggie Keely had eight apiece for the Bobcats.

Baltic drained a 3-pointer from the corner with the shot clock winding down to give Ohio its biggest lead, 62-54, with 3:31 remaining, but Akron rallied to give itself a chance at the end.

Abreu made a pair of free throws, and after two missed Ohio shots that left two Bobcats on the floor, the Zips got a fast break Diggs 3-pointer to make it a three-point game at the 2:28 mark.

Baltic missed a jumper and Marshall got a layup on the other end to get within one with 1:43 to go. Cooper missed the front end of a one-and-one, giving the Zips their first of two chances to take the lead.

Walter Offutt, playing with four fouls, took an Abreu charge to stop the Zips the first time, and after an Abreu steal, Brian Walsh missed a jumper with nine seconds left, with Keely grabbing the rebound.

The Zips led 32-31 at the break and took their largest lead by opening the second half with a Walsh 3-pointer.

Cooper and Kellogg hit consecutive 3-pointers, with a Chancey Gilliam trey for the Zips in between, while a Jon Smith free throw tied the game at 35. Baltic put Ohio ahead for good with a jumper at the 15:50 mark.

The Bobcats added to their 10-0 game-changing run with a Hall free throw and 3-pointer that made it 41-35.

Kellogg drained a triple midway through the half that helped Ohio match that advantage of six points.

A Chanucey Gilliam got the Zips within two with 6:36 to go, and they had a chance to tie or take the lead, but instead, Cooper came up with a steal and layup. He added to the lead with an off-balance 3-pointer as the shot clock wound down, making it 59-52 with 4:19 remaining.

“He loves the big stage,” Groce said. “You don’t get a chance to coach a lot of players like that so we’re blessed to have him.”

Ohio held an early 14-8 lead on a Keely layup, but back-to-back 3-pointers by Abreu and Walsh quickly erased that lead. After a Keely free throw, Diggs drained a triple that put Akron on top for the first time.

Neither team led by more than three the rest of the half.

Both teams crashed the offensive boards, with the Zips collecting 15 offensive rebounds and the Bobcats 12. Ohio forced more turnovers, 16-11, outscoring its opponent, 20-7, off turnovers, and it did a better job of cashing in on its offensive rebounds with 17 second-chance points to seven for Akron.

“I thought both teams were attacking the glass hard,” Groce said. “We had made an emphasis to do that. At that half, we talked about how we needed to slow them down. … I thought the key would be the possession battle. We needed to take care of the ball and/or take care of the offensive glass.”

The Bobcats were 23 of 52 (44.2 percent) from the field, including 9 of 21 (42.9 percent) from 3-point range. They made just 9 of 16 (56.3 percent) free throws.

Akron was lights out from the outside, making 9 of 12 3-pointers. Overall, it shot 45.5 percent from the floor and made 14 of 18 free throws.

“I owe our kids a lot because they bought in,” Groce said. “They believed we could play our best basketball in February and March and they were able to do that.”

After beating the Zips for the 2010 championship, the Bobcats shocked Georgetown in the NCAA tournament. They will have the chance again to play the role of Cinderella this year.

“It feels great,” Kellogg said. “It’s hard to put into words. This group of guys has put in so much work, so much time and effort. It feels good to be a part of this. To get this win tonight and advance to the tournament is a blessing.”

The NCAA Basketball Championship Selection Show is set for 6 p.m. Sunday on CBS.