Zips come up short as UCLA rallies for win
UCLA 57, AKRON 53
PORTLAND, Ore. - A late UCLA rally thwarted Akron's bid for its first-ever Division I NCAA Tournament victory Thursday as the Bruins escaped with a 57-53 triumph Thursday at the Moda Center.
Junior Xavier Castaneda directed Akron's offensive efforts registering a game-high 18 points, while pulling down six rebounds. Sophomore Enrique Freeman added his 18th double-double with a 14-point, 10-rebound performance.
The Zips finished the contest shooting 39.6 percent from the field, while UCLA capped its comeback connecting on 35.2 percent of its attempts on the night. The Bruins secured the win on the strength of hitting five second-half three pointers and a 18-6 run to close out the game.
Akron led for for a total of 27:06, while there was 10 lead changes and four tied scores. The Bruins held the lead for only 10:27. In addition, the rebound battle was even at 34 apiece, while the Zips outscored the Bruins 26-10 in the paint.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
• The start of the contest proved to be a back-and-forth affair with neither side leading by more than three points through the first media timeout (14:29).
• UCLA scored the first points of the game, nailing its first shot from deep, Ali answered the trifecta with one of his own at the 18:17 mark to square the game at three.
• Freeman followed with a steal and a breakaway dunk to give the Zips the early advantage before the UCLA responded with a 5-0 run, for an 8-5 lead (15:55).
• Trailing 10-7, the Zips began an 11-0 run over a 5:04 span to assume an 18-10 advantage following a lay-up by Freeman at the 8:21 mark of the opening half.
• A step-back jump from Castaneda brought Akron within one, 10-9, before he hit a jumper at the 11:24 mark to give the Zips an 11-10 lead.
• A pair of free throws from Clarke extended the margin to 13-10 before he drained a three pointer with 9:34 left before the half to push Akron's lead to 16-10.
• An offensive rebound and putback by Aziz Bandaogo ended the run and sparked a 13-2 scoring outburst by Akron, 18-10 (8:21).
• The Bruins crafted a 12-4 run of their own the even the score at 22 with 2:29 remaining before halftime.
• The Zips closed the half with baskets from Dawson and Castaneda to take a 26-25 lead into the halftime break.
• The back-and-forth game continued in the second half until a back-to-back 3-pointers by Castaneda and an old-fashioned 3-point play by Greg Tribble contributed to a 9-0 run to put Akron ahead 47-39 advantage with 7:54 left to play.
• By the 2:26 mark, the Bruins established a one-point, 52-51 lead and the Zips never reclaimed control of the scoreboard.
TOURNAMENT NOTES:
• Akron made its fifth NCAA Division I Tournament Appearance
• Three different head coaches have led the Zips to the dance: Bob Huggins (1986), Keith Dambrot (2009, 2011 and 2013), and John Groce (2022)
• John Groce is now 4-4 in the NCAA Tournament as a head coach (3-1 at Ohio, 1-1 Illinois and 0-1 at Akron)
Junior Xavier Castaneda directed Akron's offensive efforts registering a game-high 18 points, while pulling down six rebounds. Sophomore Enrique Freeman added his 18th double-double with a 14-point, 10-rebound performance.
The Zips finished the contest shooting 39.6 percent from the field, while UCLA capped its comeback connecting on 35.2 percent of its attempts on the night. The Bruins secured the win on the strength of hitting five second-half three pointers and a 18-6 run to close out the game.
Akron led for for a total of 27:06, while there was 10 lead changes and four tied scores. The Bruins held the lead for only 10:27. In addition, the rebound battle was even at 34 apiece, while the Zips outscored the Bruins 26-10 in the paint.
HOW IT HAPPENED:
• The start of the contest proved to be a back-and-forth affair with neither side leading by more than three points through the first media timeout (14:29).
• UCLA scored the first points of the game, nailing its first shot from deep, Ali answered the trifecta with one of his own at the 18:17 mark to square the game at three.
• Freeman followed with a steal and a breakaway dunk to give the Zips the early advantage before the UCLA responded with a 5-0 run, for an 8-5 lead (15:55).
• Trailing 10-7, the Zips began an 11-0 run over a 5:04 span to assume an 18-10 advantage following a lay-up by Freeman at the 8:21 mark of the opening half.
• A step-back jump from Castaneda brought Akron within one, 10-9, before he hit a jumper at the 11:24 mark to give the Zips an 11-10 lead.
• A pair of free throws from Clarke extended the margin to 13-10 before he drained a three pointer with 9:34 left before the half to push Akron's lead to 16-10.
• An offensive rebound and putback by Aziz Bandaogo ended the run and sparked a 13-2 scoring outburst by Akron, 18-10 (8:21).
• The Bruins crafted a 12-4 run of their own the even the score at 22 with 2:29 remaining before halftime.
• The Zips closed the half with baskets from Dawson and Castaneda to take a 26-25 lead into the halftime break.
• The back-and-forth game continued in the second half until a back-to-back 3-pointers by Castaneda and an old-fashioned 3-point play by Greg Tribble contributed to a 9-0 run to put Akron ahead 47-39 advantage with 7:54 left to play.
• By the 2:26 mark, the Bruins established a one-point, 52-51 lead and the Zips never reclaimed control of the scoreboard.
TOURNAMENT NOTES:
• Akron made its fifth NCAA Division I Tournament Appearance
• Three different head coaches have led the Zips to the dance: Bob Huggins (1986), Keith Dambrot (2009, 2011 and 2013), and John Groce (2022)
• John Groce is now 4-4 in the NCAA Tournament as a head coach (3-1 at Ohio, 1-1 Illinois and 0-1 at Akron)
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