 AKRON 76, CREIGHTON 67 Senior forward Brett McKnight scored a season-high 21 points, while junior forward Nikola Cvetinovic added 19 and had eight rebounds as the Zips won for just the third time in eight Bracketbusters games to end a three-game losing streak in the event.
When asked about playing a non-conference opponent this late in the season at the height of their MAC play, McKnight said, “It was just another game. We approach every game the same way. If we continue to do that, we are going to be a very good team.”
JUST PLAYING BASKETBALL
Cvetinovic said, “Everybody in the locker room knew we were going to win this game. Our confidence is coming back. We just play basketball; we don’t run many plays any more.”
During this winning streak, Akron (17-10, 7-5 MAC) has shown they can win in many ways. In defeating then Western Division leader Ball State on February 12th they used a 14-0 run to break open a close game and win by 15 75-60. Tuesday night at Bowling Green, they bombarded the Falcons with a season best 16 three-pointer routing the Falcons 89-54.
“You look back two weeks ago, and we could not beat anybody. The one thing I kept believing in was we had reasonable ability and high character in the locker room. When you have that, you can turn it around eventually.” Zips head coach Keith Dambrot said after the game
Against Creighton, it was the Zips free-throw shooting that led them to victory. Coming into the game, UA was third in the MAC in foul shooting hitting at a 70.8% clip. Saturday, they were 21-of-24 from the charity stripe, including 13-of-14 the last 3:18 to blunt any comeback attempt by the Bluejays.
ZIPS BENCH PRODUCING
Another key for the Zips - one that has worked for them all season - has been the contribution from the bench. Led by McKnight’s 21 points, they outscored the Bluejays 39-17. The third most points scored by the substitutes this season.
“Our bench has been huge.” Cvetinovic said. “Those guys (McKnight, senior Mike Bardo, sophomore transfer guard Quincy Diggs, and freshman guard Alex Abreu) -- when you can play with eight, nine guys in a rotation, it is great to have.”
Creighton (17-12, 9-7 MVC) had four players in double figures, led by freshman sensation Doug McDermot,t who scored 16 points and pulled down 16 rebounds his eighth double-double of the season. Junior guard Antoine Young added 13 and sophomore center Gregory Eschenique had 12 and eight boards.
“We got out-competed in a lot of ways tonight.” CU head coach Greg McDermott said afterwards. “They (Akron) bullied us inside and not many teams have done that this season. They forced us into turnovers we normally don’t make and kept us off-balance with their defense.”
The game started at a frenetic pace. In fact, there was not a whistle, for a span of 6:20 as both teams exchanged the lead. CU then broke open the tight affair with a pair of five-point leads, the last being 24-19 at the 5:23 mark on a free throw by Eschenique, who scored eight of his 12 points in the first 20 minutes.
Akron responded with a 13-4 run to regain the lead, 32-28, at the 1:13 mark on a pair of free throws by Abreu. UA’s largest lead of the half would be cut dramatically when Young connected on a three-pointer from the left corner with 47.6 seconds remaining in the half to make the score 32-31 at halftime.
REBOUNDING AND TREYS
Neither team shot the ball well in the first half, but two tell-tale stats favored Creighton. One was a decisive rebounding edge at 22-14. Second, was their ability to hit the 3-point shot, going 4-of-8 from beyond the arc. Coming into the game, UA had not allowed a three-point field goal in two of their last three games and had held the opposition to just 13.9% over those games. However, CU was one of the best three-point shooting teams in the MVC at 30.8%.
The Bluejays regained the lead on a jumper by Young 26 seconds into the second half. But they could not pull away from the Zips, even though the hosts were running into foul trouble. Center Zeke Marshall picked up a pair of quick fouls early in both halves and fouling out with 8:57 remaining, registering just two points, three rebounds, and a blocked shot.
CU held a two-point lead on four occasions the last being 44-42 with 13:07 remaining on an offensive rebound and put-back basket by McDermott. It would be their last lead of the contest.
CREIGHTON'S FRESHMAN STANDOUT
When asked about McDermott, whose name is mentioned as one of the best freshman players in the country, Cvetinovic said “He is deceptively fast.” Dambrot added “He doesn’t look like he can run and jump. He’s long with (his) arms, and he can step out and shoot the ball. He is a deceptive player.”
UA went on an 8-2 run to take the lead for good, 50-46, when Bardo scored on a put-back at the 8:39 mark.
“McKnight was a little better than we thought. Not a lot of us could guard him tonight.” Doug McDermott said. “You’re not going to win many games when you allow two power forwards to combine for 40 points.”
The Zips would build an eight-point lead at 57-49 when McKnight connected on a three-pointer from the top of the key with 6:47 remaining. The closest Creighton would get the remainder of the game was four points on four occasions. Every time they challenged, UA answered with free throws. The last Zips field goal was by Cvetinovic at the 4:07 mark.
CVETINOVIC THRIVING
“Nikola is playing as good as any player in the league right now … mostly because he is thinking about making other players better,” Dambrot said.
Going into the contest, Cvetinovic led a balanced UA scoring attack averaging 11.7 points per game. Over the last few games, however, he has played better both offensively and defensively, especially in rebounding. His eight boards marked the eighth consecutive game and 11th in the last 12 where he has led the team in rebounding.”
UA collected its fifth consecutive win at home (11-2 overall), but the team knows there is a lot of basketball left to be played. “We want to finish on the right note. “Cvetinovic said. “We owe people some things.”
Their chance for retribution begins on Wednesday night against the division leading Miami Redhawks, who beat UA in Oxford back on January 19, 76-64. Another key matchup is Saturday night as the Zips face Buffalo, who beat them, 73-70, back on January 16th.
UPON FURTHER REVIEW
KEY MOMENT: 1) When Akron center Zeke Marshall came out of the game with his fourth personal foul at the 15:30 mark of the second half, Creighton held a 38-36 lead. When he finally fouled out, UA had taken a 47-44 advantage and would not lose the lead. 2) With CU leading 44-42 with 13:07 remaining, the Zips went on an 8-2 run with four different players scoring to take the lead for good.
PLAYER OF THE GAME: BRETT MCKNIGHT-AKRON. The senior from Cambridge, Ohio led all scorers with a season-high 21 points coming off the bench. McKnight has been a key factor in the turnaround this season. Against Western Michigan on February 9, McKnight became the 38th player in UA basketball history to score 1000 career points.
KEY STATS OF THE GAME: 1) Creighton totally dominated the rebound battle 42-32 and 2) Akron going 21-of-24 from the free throw line (13-of-14 late in the second half).
NOTES: The game was just the second lifetime meeting between the two schools with CU winning the first in the second round of the 2006 NIT (71-60 in Omaha)…Akron is now 4-11 lifetime against the Missouri Valley Conference (winning their last two)…Zips are 3-5 lifetime in Bracketbusters (2-1 lifetime at home)…Zips head coach Keith Dambrot is 3-4 lifetime in Bracketbusters…2-2 lifetime against the Missouri Valley Conference..1-1 vs Creighton (1-0 vs Gregg McDermott)…Brett McKnight-UA was honored before the game in recognition of scoring his 1000th career point against Western Michigan on February 9th…Creighton is 6-3 lifetime in Bracketbusters (0-2 vs MAC losing at Kent State in 2004) breaking a three-game winning streak in the series…CU is 8-9 lifetime against the MAC…Doug McDermott reached double-digit scoring for the 24th time this season tied with Ohio State’s Jared Sullinger for second most by freshman this season in Division I (Brandon Knight-Kentucky- leads with 25)
|
