 AKRON 84, ORAL ROBERTS 80 The game was the final game of the 2010 Las Vegas Hoops Classic for both schools, and Akron (9-5) picked up its fifth win in the last six games as the Zips prepare for their Mid-American Conference opener Saturday night at home against arch rival Kent State.
ZIPS INCONSISTENT
“You look at the game (and) we were great in stretches, horrible for the next. Great again then dumb, (then) smart. We were all over the board tonight,” Zips head coach Keith Dambrot said after the game.
Six UA players scored in double figures, led by junior center Nikola Cvetinovic, who had 17 points and six rebounds. Fellow junior Brett McClanahan added 13 while sophomore Zeke Marshall and senior Darryl Roberts added 12.
“We just found a way to win.” Cvetinovic said. “We have a veteran group of players there. That was a quality for us against a very good team.”
MORRISON MISSING
Oral Roberts (5-11, 2-2 SL), playing without its best player, junior forward Dominique Morrison, lost for the seventh time in the last eight games. Sophomore center Damen Bell-Holter led all scorers with a career best 27 points, 21 coming in the second half.
Morrison has led ORU in scoring at 18.4 points per game and is one of the top scorers in The Summit League. He was coming off a 32-point performance in ORU’s last game, an 85-77 home loss to league leading Oakland. However, he injured a knee in practice and did not make the trip to face the Zips.
Akron started the game strong, opening a nine-point lead 18-9 at the 14:34 mark on a three-pointer from the top of the key by Roberts. The lead grew to 11 (25-14) at the 12:20 mark on a layup by Marshall. ORU rallied and with an 11-4 spurt to close the margin to four, 29-25, at the 9:37 mark on a layup by Steven Roundtree.
UA pushed the lead out to 15, largest of the first half,44-29 at the 4:54 mark on a three from the left arc by senior Brett McKnight. The Golden Eagles countered again using a 10-2 run to close the deficit to seven 46-39 with 52 seconds remaining on a layup by Bell-Holter. The Zips went into the locker room with a 10-point lead 49-39.
EXCELLENT SHOOTING
It was a first half where both teams were simply sizzling from the field. UA shot 56.3% (18-for-32) and was 7-for-15 from three-point range. ORU was even better, hitting 65.2% from the floor (15-for-23), yet it still trailed.
One key number in the first 20 minutes was Akron did not have an offensive rebound and was outboarded 15-7
Things would change in the second half, as Bell-Holder scored ORU’s first nine points of the period, closing the deficit to three (53-48) with 16:22 remaining. UA pushed the lead back out to six (56-50) at the 14:25 mark when McClanahan connected o a three from the right arc.
The Eagles then used a 10-2 run (21-9 since the start of the second half) to take their first lead of the game 60-58 with 12:56 remaining on a Ken Holdman free throw.
With ORU holding a slim 65-64 lead with 8:21 remaining on a Warren Niles free throw, UA regained the lead 66-64 on two Cvetinovic free throws at the 8:08 mark. The two foul shots started a run of 13 consecutive points by the Zips, who built a 12-point advantage 77-65 at the 6:03 mark on another pair of free throws by Cvetinovic.
Just when it seemed the Zips were taking control, however, ORU refused to go away. The Golden Eagles used a 10-4 spurt to close the gap again to four 79-75 with 2:53 remaining on a layup by Niles.
The lead fluctuated between four and six points. But with UA leading 81-75 with 1:23 remaining on a Steve McNees free throw, the Eagles had one final push, using a three from reserve Javier Nasarre, and a Holdman layup to close the deficit to one with 40.7 seconds remaining, 81-80.
After two Roberts free throws gave the Zips an 83-80 lead at the 25.3 second mark. ORU went for the tie but Niles missed a three-pointer from the right arc. The ball bounced into the corner and out of bounds with Akron taking possession.
A Cvetinovic free throw in the final seconds gave the Zips their winning margin. It was their fourth win in five games at home this season.
“We need to stop being an up-and-down team, and to develop that killer instinct - give the game that finishing touch.” Cvetinovic said.
TURNOVERS PROVE COSTLY FOR VISITORS
While Akron cooled off considerably from the field in the second half, shooting 11-for-31 (35.5%), the Golden Eagles stayed strong as they shot 53.8% (14-for-26) and finished the game at 59.2% (29-for-49) - the best shooting performance against UA so far this season. In addition, ORU decisively won the rebound battle 39-20, but turned the ball over 23 times to only six for Akron.
UPON FURTHER REVIEW
KEY MOMENT: Oral Roberts had narrowed the lead to one 81-80 and had a chance to tie in the final seconds, but a missed three-pointer by Warren Niles bounced out of bounds and Akron gained possession.
STAR OF THE GAME: DAMEN BELL-HOLTER (ORAL ROBERTS): The sophomore from Ketchikan, Alaska picked up the scoring reins after leading scorer Dominique Morrison injured his knee in practice and did not make the trip. Bell-Holder registered a career-high 27 points, going 9-of-10 from the field, 8-of-9 from the free throw line (and also had seven rebounds).
KEY STATS OF THE GAME: 1) Oral Roberts decisively won the rebound battle 39-20. 2) ORU committing 23 turnovers (turning into 20 Akron points) to just six for UA. 3) ORU dominated in the paint scoring 48 points to 30 for Akron.
NOTES: The game was the fourth lifetime meeting between the two schools with Akron winning three of the four…Akron finished 3-1 in the Las Vegas Hoops classic with wins against Arkansas-Little Rock, and Stetson while losing to Miami (FLA)…Akron is 5-1 at home this season (only loss to Cleveland State on November 24th)…Akron is 25-16 lifetime against The Summit League. The game was UA’s first with the conference since the Zips faced ORU in Tulsa in December,2006…Brett McClanahan-AKR has scored in double-digits in six straight games, Nikola Cvetinovic & Brett McKnight-AKR three straight… ORU is 4-7 lifetime against the current teams of the MAC…Akron head coach Keith Dambrot picked up his 256th career win (256-137 lifetime) 149-66 at Akron…6-2 lifetime against the Summit League…2-0 against Oral Roberts and against head coach Sean Sutton
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