Norfolk State 72, Bowling Green 67
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WASHINGTON DC – The Akron Zips advanced to the DC Holiday Hoops Fest championship game on a late 3-pointer from senior Xeyrius Williams and a blocked shot by senior Deng Riak in the final 18.5 seconds for a 62-61 win over Tulane at the Entertainment and Sports Arena Friday afternoon.
Akron (9-2) controlled the scoreboard for most of the game, but a late 12-0 run by the Green Wave gave Tulane a 56-53 advantage with 3:10 remaining in the game. On the ensuing possession, Akron junior Camron Reece ended the Zips eight-minute scoring drought with a dunk, which cut the Tulane lead to one point, 56-55.
From that point, the two teams traded buckets as Williams nailed his first of two 3-pointers and senior Tyler Cheese split a pair of free throws to give Akron a 59-58 advantage with 1:53 remaining in the game.
Tulane (8-3) answered with a long-distance bucket of their own as Kevin Zhang buried his third triple of the game at the 1:32 mark, 61-59. Both teams followed with missed shots and Williams snagged the final defensive rebound of the game.
On the other end of the floor, Cheese found Williams in the far corner, and without hesitation, Williams fired the shot from deep to give Akron a 62-61 lead with 18.5 seconds remaining. Tulane immediately called a timeout and Akron relied on its defense to solidify the win.
In the final 18 seconds, Cheese nearly stole the ball from Tulane, but got tied up, resulting in a jump ball that the Green Wave retained possession with five seconds left. Tulane's Christion Thompson attempted the final shot of the game in the lane, but Riak denied the attempt and lifted Akron to the one-point victory. Riak set a career-high four blocks in the game.
Williams led the Zips scoring with 16 points and recorded his fourth double-double of the season as he grabbed a career-high 15 boards. Junior Loren Cristian Jackson followed with 15 points, six assists and five rebounds, while senior Channel Banks recorded 14 points and added a team best three steals. Jackson was 5-of-11 from the field with three triples and Banks buried 50-percent of his shots from the floor which included a 3-of-6 performance from long range.
Akron led for 32:53 and edged the Green Wave on the glass by one, 42-41. Teshaun Hightower led the Tulane offense with 18 points while K.J. Lawson (14), Zhang (11) and Thompson (10) chipped in double-digit scoring efforts.
With the win, Akron advances to the championship game at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 21. The Zips will play the winner of game two between Liberty and Towson.
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J. – The Bowling Green Falcons were defeated on Friday night by Norfolk State University, 72-67, in overtime. The contest was played inside the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey as part of the Boardwalk Battle.
Bowling Green drops to 8-3 on the season with the loss. The Falcons will conclude the event with a 2 p.m. game versus Quinnipiac tomorrow (Dec. 21).
Norfolk State closed the game on an 11-0 run to force overtime. The Spartans then went 4-of-6 from the field in OT, along with a 6-for-6 mark from the charity stripe, to steal the win away from Bowling Green.
Sophomore guard Caleb Fields led the Falcons with 16 points. Fields, a native of Cape May Court House, New Jersey, was playing less than 40 miles away from his hometown. Junior Daeqwon Plowden recorded the fourth double-double of his career, as he finished with 15 points and 11 rebounds. Senior guard Dylan Frye (13 points) also scored in double figures for the Orange and Brown.