AKRON, OHIO – The Akron Zips withstood a second half challenge from the Miami Redhawks to register their fifth consecutive victory Saturday afternoon at Rhodes Arena.
With the victory, Akron (21-6) improved . . .
"Any time this time of the year, a big win is a big win.” Zips head coach John Groce said. “We got contributions from everyone.”
Junior Tyler Cheese led all scorers in the contest with 17 points and 10 rebounds. It was his second double-double in as many games as he posted 23 points and 11 boards in the win at Western Michigan on Tuesday night.
Fellow junior Loren Christen Jackson tallied14 and four assists, while senior Xeyrius Williams added 17 points and 10 rebounds.
Miami (10-16, 3-10) suffered its fifth loss in the last six games. Junior Nike Sibande led the 'Hawks with 14 points and 11s rebound, while sophomore Elijah McNamara added 10.
Both teams exchanged the lead in the early going. However, UA ran off 12 unanswered points midway through the opening period to take a lead it would never relinquish.
The home team built a 22-12 lead at the 5:33 mark and went into halftime with a 36-24 advantage.
UA built its lead shooting 12-of-25 from the field but only hit 4-of-14 from three-point range while holding a decisive 24-14 rebounding edge.
“Our defense got us the lead in the first half.” Groce said.
One thing that has plagued the Zips all season is how they start the second half. The issue resurfaced against MU as the visitors scored 10 straight points to close within seven (41-34) after two Sibande free throws with 15:02 remaining.
UA pushed the lead out to seven (49-42) on a short jumper by Deng Riak before Isiah Coleman-Lands connected on a jumper from the left wing to close the margin to 49-44 with 10:51 remaining.
That would as close as the visitors could get for the rest of the game. The Zips steadied their ship pushed the lead out to 12 points 64-52 when Banks made one of to free throws.
After Miami closed the gap to seven when Jovic connected on a short jumper in the lane, UA closed out the game, winning by ten to sweep the season series.
Statistically, UA shot 43.4 percent from the field while Miami was at 25-of-69 from the floor (36.2 percent). The home team narrowly won the battle of the boards 41-39. The two teams combined for just 12 turnovers in the game.