Noah Robatham gets off a pass. The sophomore had 12 points, five rebounds, 3 assists and 2 steals. (SGWarren/BMP) By EVAN MEYER
AKRON, OHIO – One of the five Mid-American Conference losses the Akron Zips had this season was at the hands of their arch-rival Kent State Golden Flashes two weeks ago in Kent.
Friday night at Rhodes Arena, the Zips got a measure of revenge for that 85-76 loss as they used a 12-2 run midway through the second half to break open a close game and pick up a 74-60 victory before a near sellout crowd of 5,301 and a national television audience.
With the win, Akron (24-7, 13-5) completed an undefeated season (15-0) at home -- just the third perfect slate since Rhodes Arena was opened in 1982. Akron also ran an entire home schedule undefeated in 1986-87 and 2005-06.
UA will go into the 2016 MAC Tournament presented by VisitMyrtleBeach.com as the number one seed and . . .
AKRON, OHIO – One of the five Mid-American Conference losses the Akron Zips had this season was at the hands of their arch-rival Kent State Golden Flashes two weeks ago in Kent.
Friday night at Rhodes Arena, the Zips got a measure of revenge for that 85-76 loss as they used a 12-2 run midway through the second half to break open a close game and pick up a 74-60 victory before a near sellout crowd of 5,301 and a national television audience.
With the win, Akron (24-7, 13-5) completed an undefeated season (15-0) at home -- just the third perfect slate since Rhodes Arena was opened in 1982. Akron also ran an entire home schedule undefeated in 1986-87 and 2005-06.
UA will go into the 2016 MAC Tournament presented by VisitMyrtleBeach.com as the number one seed and . . .
Chris Ortiz (4) and Kwan Cheatam Jr.(2) battle for position. (SGWarren/BMP) . . . will face the winner of the game between #8-seed Eastern Michigan and #9-seed Toledo on Thursday afternoon at noon at Cleveland’s Quicken Loans Arena.
“It was a good win for us. Kent is a good team.” Zips head coach Keith Dambrot said. “We missed a lot of open looks (at the basket), especially early.”
Sophomore guard Noah Robotham and junior Isiah Johnson led the Akron attack with 12 points each. Robotham added five rebounds, three assists and two steals while Johnson pulled down 12 boards with two helpers and a steal.
Kent State (19-12, 10-8) heads into the tournament as the number five seed as the loss, coupled with Buffalo’s win over Bowling Green, gave the Bulls a fourth seed. KSU opens the tournament at home Monday night against BGSU. The winner faces UB late Thursday afternoon at The Q.
“We didn’t play quite good enough tonight.” KSU head man Rob Senderoff said. “There were too many turnovers, and we missed too many shots around the rim. When you do those things, its tough to win”
“It was a good win for us. Kent is a good team.” Zips head coach Keith Dambrot said. “We missed a lot of open looks (at the basket), especially early.”
Sophomore guard Noah Robotham and junior Isiah Johnson led the Akron attack with 12 points each. Robotham added five rebounds, three assists and two steals while Johnson pulled down 12 boards with two helpers and a steal.
Kent State (19-12, 10-8) heads into the tournament as the number five seed as the loss, coupled with Buffalo’s win over Bowling Green, gave the Bulls a fourth seed. KSU opens the tournament at home Monday night against BGSU. The winner faces UB late Thursday afternoon at The Q.
“We didn’t play quite good enough tonight.” KSU head man Rob Senderoff said. “There were too many turnovers, and we missed too many shots around the rim. When you do those things, its tough to win”
Kwan Cheatham Jr. contributed seven points as Akron finished off a perfect season on the home court. (SGWarren/BMP) Junior Jimmy Hall led all scorers in the contest with 20 points and 17 rebounds. Senior Chris Ortiz came off the bench to score 12 points and grab eight rebounds, while junior Kellon Thomas added 11 points and four assists.
The first half was a frustrating episode of missed opportunities, especially for the visiting Flashes, with both teams missing shots from close range.
The Zips opened a 9-2 lead early, KSU closed to within one, 12-11, on a three-pointer from the left arc by Deon Edwin. It was the first of four opportunities that the visitors had to tie or take the lead. All went awry.
Every time UA would push the lead out to get breathing space, the Flashes came back. When the dust settled after 20 minutes, the home team held a 33-30 lead.
Both teams shot around 35 percent in the opening period (12-of-37 for UA and 11-of-32 for KSU). The Flashes held a 28-22 rebounding edge but turned the ball over eight times.
The first half was a frustrating episode of missed opportunities, especially for the visiting Flashes, with both teams missing shots from close range.
The Zips opened a 9-2 lead early, KSU closed to within one, 12-11, on a three-pointer from the left arc by Deon Edwin. It was the first of four opportunities that the visitors had to tie or take the lead. All went awry.
Every time UA would push the lead out to get breathing space, the Flashes came back. When the dust settled after 20 minutes, the home team held a 33-30 lead.
Both teams shot around 35 percent in the opening period (12-of-37 for UA and 11-of-32 for KSU). The Flashes held a 28-22 rebounding edge but turned the ball over eight times.
Jimmy Hall had a huge game with 20 points and 17 rebounds. (SGWarren/BMP) At the beginning of the second half, KSU used a 9-5 spurt to take its first and only lead of the game, 39-38, at the 16:53 mark when Thomas connected on a jumper from the left side.
UA responded with a 9-2 run of its own to grab the lead for good (47-41) at the 13:37 mark on a three from the left arc by freshman Josh Williams.
In their last two games, victories over BGSU and Ohio, the Zips hit 39 shots from beyond the arc, setting single-game school records in both games. On this night however, they managed just 7-of-33.
The game’s crucial point came at the 10:24 mark after two free throws by Ortiz got KSU back to 51-49. UA then went on a12-2 run to open a 63-51 lead with 6:29 remaining, Robotham was key to the run as he scored seven points, capping it with a three from the right corner.
UA responded with a 9-2 run of its own to grab the lead for good (47-41) at the 13:37 mark on a three from the left arc by freshman Josh Williams.
In their last two games, victories over BGSU and Ohio, the Zips hit 39 shots from beyond the arc, setting single-game school records in both games. On this night however, they managed just 7-of-33.
The game’s crucial point came at the 10:24 mark after two free throws by Ortiz got KSU back to 51-49. UA then went on a12-2 run to open a 63-51 lead with 6:29 remaining, Robotham was key to the run as he scored seven points, capping it with a three from the right corner.
The Zips largest lead of the evening was 14 points at 74-60 in the final minute when sophomore Antino Jackson scored a layup coming down the baseline. That was the game's final score.
Among the key stats:
-- UA going 15-of-19 from the free throw line.
-- KSU won the rebound battle 45-41, although UA had 14 offensive rebounds which turned into 21 points.
-- The Flashes turned the ball 15 times, whch resulted in 12 Zips points.
-- Individually, Khaliq Spicer had 22 points in the first meeting at the MAC Center. In this game, he had just one point, three rebounds and did not attempt a shot from the field.
Among the key stats:
-- UA going 15-of-19 from the free throw line.
-- KSU won the rebound battle 45-41, although UA had 14 offensive rebounds which turned into 21 points.
-- The Flashes turned the ball 15 times, whch resulted in 12 Zips points.
-- Individually, Khaliq Spicer had 22 points in the first meeting at the MAC Center. In this game, he had just one point, three rebounds and did not attempt a shot from the field.
 Antino Jackson puts up a shot. (SGWarren/BMP) |  Isaiah Johnson (right) and Jaylin Walker battle for a rebound. (SGWarren/BMP) |
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