 AKRON 68, OHIO 63
GOOD CROWD SEES HARD-FOUGHT CONTEST
Payback was served on Saturday afternoon as the Zips took the lead late in the second half, defeating the Cats, 68-63, before an electric crowd of 4,661 at Rhodes Arena. It was the largest home crowd of 2011-12.
Akron (11-6, 3-0 MAC) won its fourth consecutive game, and eighth in the last nine -- their only loss being to Virginia Commonwealth by onne-point back on December 29.
“It was a tough physical game”. Zips head coach Keith Dambrot said after the contest. “It was a good game, a good atmosphere, a good crowd.”
Junior center Zeke Marshall led all scorers in the game with 17 points, along with six rebounds, two assists and three blocked shots. In his first two MAC games, Marshall scored a total of nine points. Senior guard Brett McClanahan and sophomore forward Nick Harney both came off the bench to score 10 points each.
BOBCATS' MOMENTUM SLOWING DOWN
Ohio (13-4, 1-2 MAC) has lost three of its last four games after rattling off a nine-game winning streak -- the Bobcats best start since 1940-41.
“I thought it was a really competitive basketball game with two great teams.” Ohio head man John Groce said afterward. “Both teams fought hard to win. There was no flow or rhythm to the game. We have to learn from it”
Junior guard D.J. Cooper led the Cats with 13 points, despite being just 2-for-15 from the field, with four assists and three steals. Sophomore Nick Kellogg and fourth-year junior Walter Offutt each added 11 while junior forward Ivo Baltic scored 10.
“Cooper to me is the best player in the league.” Dambrot said. “At least the best perimeter player in the league. He’s killed us in the past, so today was poetic justice that we finally guarded him.”
UA picked up the home court victory after two heart-pounding road wins to open its MAC season. After a 65-60 come-from-behind win at Miami, Harney hit a layup with 0.5 seconds remaining in regulation for a win 56-55 at Bowling Green.
Saturday’s game started slowly with Ohio opening a five-point lead, 11-6, at the 13:02 mark on a short jumper by forward Reggie Keely. The Zips then tied the game on two occasions and took their first lead of the game at the 3:18 mark, 21-20 on a pair of free throws from sophomore guard Brian Walsh.
Ohio regained it on the next possession when freshman Stevie Taylor connected for a three-pointer from the left arc. Harney then scored UA’s next six points on a slam dunk, two free throws, and a floating layup to give the Zips the lead back 27-25.
KELLOGG BEATS BUZZER
After the teams exchanged a pair of free throws, Cooper for Ohio and Chauncey Gilliam for UA, the Zips still held a 29-27 lead until just before the halftime buzzer sounded when Kellogg connected on a three from the right arc. The score was reviewed by replay and upheld, giving the Bobcats a 30-29 lead at intermission.
Akron trailed by a point despite shooting 50 percent from the field (8-for-16). The Zips hit 12-of-17 from the free throw line and owned a 15-12 rebounding edge.
Ohio had a chance to open a substantial lead in the first 20 minutes, but the ‘Cats were only 11-for-28 from the field, with the errant shots including a few missed layups from right in front of the basket. They also forced UA into nine turnovers but only converted them into seven points.
At the start of the second half, the ‘Cats opened a pair of four-point leads, the last being 37-33 when Baltic hit a jumper off the back board at the 16:03 mark. The Zips would chip away, getting to as close as one point on three occasions, with the last being 55-54 on a pair of McClanahan free throws at 6:14. Each time UA came close, Ohio pushed the lead back out.
The turning point of the game came with 5:02 remaining after the ‘Cats regained the lead, 57-55, on two free throws by Cooper. It would be their last points for over four and a half minutes.
SECOND HALF MAGIC
In their first two MAC wins this season, UA used late second half surges to win at Miami and at Bowling Green.
It happened again against Ohio as the Zips took the lead for good when sophomore guard Alex Abreu hit a three from the right arc with 3:58 remaining to give them the lead for good, 59-57. It was part of a 9-0 run (11-2 overall) to give Akron a 64-57 lead.
“I thought that run was crucial, along with making some plays.” Groce said.
It was a chippy game throughout, with 51 fouls called in the contest (30 on Ohio and 21 on UA). Five players fouled out (four on Ohio and one on UA). Tempers started to heat up with 1:14 remaining in the game when Offutt was called for an intentional foul on Cvetinovic. Then with 34.1 seconds remaining, a double technical foul was called on Marshall and Cooper, along with “T” on Diggs.
Ohio kept fighting and still had some life with 2.4 seconds remaining when sophomore guard Riccardo Johnson converted a conventional three-point play to make the score 66-63. But Baltic fouled Cvetinovic with 1.6 seconds remaining and the 6-8 senior netted both free throws to make the final margin five points. It was UA’ s first win over Ohio since a double-overtime thriller in February, 2010.
Neither team shot the ball well in the second half. UA was 10-of-24 (41.7 percent) and finished the game at 45 percent (18-for-40). The Zips were just 3-for-11 from beyond the arc. Ohio, meanwhile, was just as cold, hitting 11-of-34 from the floor (32.4 percent) and finishing at 35.5 percent (22-for-62).
In addition, the Zips shot just 63 percent from the foul line (17-for-27) and finished at 65.9 percent (29-for-44). They won the rebound battle, 41-30.
“We have enough guts to hang in there, to play through mistakes, and have enough toughness to win.” Dambrot said.
Both teams get back to action on Wednesday with Akron heading on the road to Buffalo while Ohio returns home to face Kent State.
GAMEBOOK:
KEY MOMENT: For the third consecutive game, UA used a second half surge to win. This time they used a 9-0 run and held Ohio scoreless for over 4:30 minutes with Alex Abreu’s three-pointer at 3:58 giving them the lead for good
PLAYER OF THE GAME: ZEKE MARSHALL-AKRON. The junior led all scorers with 17 points, along with six rebounds, two assists, and three blocked shots, surpassing the 200 block mark in his career
KEY STATS OF THE GAME: 1) UA out-rebounded Ohio, 26-18, in the second half. 2) UA turned the ball over 16 times and Ohio converted them into just 10 points.
NOTEBOOK:
The game was the 64th lifetime meeting between the two schools with Ohio holding a 33-31..Akron is 9-2 in last 11 meetings at Rhodes Arena…UA head coach Keith Dambrot’s 93rd MAC win moved him past Western Michigan’s Bob Donewald for ninth place on the MAC all-time win list…Zeke Marshall-AKR became just the eighth player in MAC history with 200 career blocked shots…Marshall reached double digits for the 11th time this season…Nick Harney-AKR hit double digits for the third consecutive game…Brett McClanahan-AKR his first game in double digits since November 26 vs. Detroit…D.J. Cooper-OHIO reached double digits in five straight games and 10 of his last 11…Walter Offutt-OHIO has reached double digits in four of his last six games…
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