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Akron head coach Keith Dambrot is named Mid-American Conference Coach of the Year for 2017. (Kyle Lanzer/Special to The Plain Dealer)

CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Mid-American Conference champion Akron picked up the top awards Wednesday with Zips center Isaiah Johnson and coach Keith Dambrot getting Player of the Year and Coach of the Year honors, respectively.

Johnson picked up 23 votes from the select media pool with Central Michigan's Marcus Keene getting seven, Kent State's Jimmy Hall three, Ohio University's Jaaron Simmons two, and Western Michigan's Thomas Wilder two.

Dambrot got 21 votes, ahead of OU's Saul Phillips with nine, Western Michigan's Steve Hawkins with four, Ball State's James Whitford with two and Kent State's Rob Senderoff with one.

This caps a season when the Zips (24-7, 14-4) won a second straight MAC regular season championship behind the 6-10, 290-pound Johnson who averaged 16.2 points and 7.4 rebounds a game. The Zips held at least a two-game margin over the field the bulk of the season.

While Johnson was the focal point of every defense in the conference, it was Dambrot who nursed the Zips to the finish line game after game. The Zips only won four conference games by 10 points or more. Conversely, eight of Akron's wins were by two possessions or less, often coming down to a critical play or possession the final minute of the game to secure the victory.

This marked the 12th year Dambrot's team won 21 or more games and the fifth year the Zips finished with at least a share of the league crown. It is the third time Dambrot, who is 302-137 in his career at Akron (410-207 overall), was named best coach in the league.