CLEVELAND (AP) — Demetrius Treadwell scored 13 points and top-seeded Akron, its season nearly wrecked by a player suspension, beat Ohio 65-46 on Saturday night to win the Mid-American Conference championship and the league’s automatic spot in the NCAA tournament.

One week ago, the Zips (26-6) were in danger of seeing a special season crash when point guard Alex Abreu was arrested on drug trafficking charges. But Akron’s players rallied around coach Keith Dambrot and the Zips, playing in their seventh straight MAC title game, are back in the NCAA brackets for the third time in five years.

Treadwell added 10 rebounds, Chauncey Gillaim also scored 13 points, Nick Harney had 11 and Zeke Marshall 10.

Ohio’s D.J. Cooper, the MAC’s Player of the Year, missed all nine field-goal attempts and scored just 3 points. The Bobcats (24-9) shot just 1 of 20 on 3-pointers.