AKRON, OHIO – The Ohio University Bobcats took advantage of a poor shooting start by the Akron Zips to build an early first half lead and never looked back as they picked up a 73-49 victory Saturday afternoon at Rhodes Arena.
It was just the second win for Ohio (13-15, 5-12 MAC) in its last nine nine games. It also ended a six-game losing streak and gave the Bobcats a split of the season series with the Zips after UA prevailed in Athens 65-53 2.back on Feb
"You don’t (usually) see a win of this margin coming on the road, (but) we had a good chance to win, especially after the win over Bowling Green.” Ohio head coach Saul Phillips said. “We had gone through some adversity and played hard, and we did something positive today.”
Senior Doug Taylor added 14 with seven boards and two steals, while sophomore Teyvion Kirk added 11 with four rebounds and three assists.
The loss for Akron (15-14, 7-9) was its fourth in the last five games and just their third setback on their home floor as the Zips fell to 12-3 overall and 6-2 in conference play.
“We got what we deserved.” Zips head coach John Groce said .”Give Ohio credit. Their two point guard attack was effective. They played harder than us and whipped us in every phase of the game.”
Sophomore Deng Riak was the only UA player in double figures, totaling 11 points with eight rebounds and a blocked shot.
The game was decided in the opening half as the Bobcats opened a 10-2 lead at the 14:32 mark on a layup from senior Gavin Block.
After UA closed the deficit to three points (20-17) on a three-pointer from the top of the key from junior Tyler Cheese, the 'Cats took control and opened up a double-digit lead 22-12 at the 8:12 mark on a slam dunk by Taylor. The lead would not fall below double digits for the remainder of the contest.
Ohio ended the opening period on a 9-2 run to open its largest lead of the half 39-19 at intermission. The key to the half was Vander Plas, who scored 12 points, going four-of-five from beyond the arc.
“Vander Plas’ three-point shooting really put us in a hole.” Groce said.
The freshman eventually reached the 20-point plateau for the second time this season and was just four points away from his career high when he scored 24 in a loss at Central Michigan on February 16.
When asked about his game, Phillips said “It was more of an all around performance.”
The second half was more of the same as UA never had a run to get back into the game. In fact, Ohio kept increasing its advantage reaching as many as 31 point, 66-35, with 8:39 remaining when sophomore Jason carter connected on a three from the right arc.
The win was Ohio’s first against the Zips in the Rubber City since 2014 ending a four-game losing streak.
One of the key to the success for Ohio was the implementation of the two point guard system, effectively using freshman Jason Preston and junior Antonio Cowart Jr. When asked about the change, Phillips said “It has really helped us, it has really boosted our assist numbers.”
For the Akron Blue and Gold, it was just one of those games to forget. The Zips never led in the entire contest.
UA missed seven of its first eight shots and often struggled . Senior Jimond Ivey was held to only eight points (2-of-10 from the field) -- the fourth time in the last five games that he was held under double digits.
Junior Daniel Utomi, who came into the game leading UA in scoring at 14.4 ppg, had only five points. As with Ivey, it was his fourth time in the last five games scoring under 10 points.
Sophomore Loren Cristen Jackson was held to only four points. That was his lowest offensive total of the season and the first time in the last 12 games he failed to score in double digits. Finally, Cheese had only seven after scoring 47 points combined in the last two games.
Team stats reflected Ohio's success on the day. The Green and White shot 45.6 percent from the field (26-of-57), going 9-of-24 from beyond the arc. Ohio won the rebound battle 39-34 and had 19 assists on 26 field goals.
Akron was just 29.3 percent from the floor (17-of-58) and only 4-of-22 from beyond the arc. UA also turned the ball over 14 times, converting the miscues into 16 Ohio points.
“We were sloppy with the ball, we were lazy with the ball, we were soft with the ball.” Groce said.
Both teams return to action on Tuesday as Akron plays their final home game of the season against Bowling Green while Ohio returns home to play Buffalo.