The University of Akron Athletics
Men's Basketball Tops Miami In MAC Quarterfinal
March 13 | Men's Basketball
– Trailing by as many as 12 points in the first half, the
fifth-seeded University of Akron men's basketball team rallied to
defeat fourth-seeded Miami (Ohio) 73-63 in the quarterfinal round
of the Mid-American Conference men's basketball tournament on
Thursday at Quicken Loans Arena.
With the score sitting at 57-50, Steve
McNees hit his first basket of the second half – and his
fifth 3-pointer of the game – with 6:16 to go, giving Akron
(21-12) its first double-digit lead. Nate
Linhart followed with a triple of his own on the next
possession to extend that advantage to 13 points and Miami (17-13)
would not recover.
Four players hit double figures for Akron as the Zips secured a
berth in Friday's semifinals for the fourth-straight year. McNees
carried the load with a season-high 17 points on 6-of-9 shooting,
including 5-of-7 from 3-point range. Darryl
Roberts added 15 points, while Nikola
Cvetinovic tied a career high with 12 points and established a
new career high with eight rebounds for UA.
Akron won the battle of the boards, 40-28, led by Cvetinovic and
Linhart. Linhart rounded out the Zips' double-digit performers with
10 points and eight rebounds as UA improved to 16-0 this season
when out-boarding an opponent. The Akron reserves also paid
dividends, outscoring Miami 30-15 in bench points.
Coming in as the second-best scoring offense in the league, the
Zips shot 38.3 percent (23-of-60) from the floor against the top
scoring defense in the MAC. Miami came in allowing just 58.4 points
per game.
Miami led by one at the half, 32-31, but Chris
McKnight gave UA its first lead of the game just 18 seconds out
of the locker room. The two teams would play even for nearly seven
minutes until a McKnight slam off a Roberts assist gave Akron a
six-point lead, 47-41.
Michael Bramos led the way for Miami with his tenth game of 20 or
more points. After scoring 12 points in each of the two regular
season match-ups with the Zips, the MAC Player of the Year reached
that total with 7:06 to go before halftime. He made 10-of-11 free
throws, including all six in the first half for a game-high 24
points.
A 3-pointer by Bramos capped a string of seven unanswered points to
start the game as the RedHawks opened with an 11-1 lead. He scored
nine of his team's first 17 points as the Miami defense held the
Zips without a field goal for the first 5:34.
The UA reserves would then step up as Brett
McClanahan buried a 3-pointer, followed by a Brett
McKnight jumper on the next possession. Akron began the game by
shooting 0-of-9 from the floor, but then caught fire from long
range, connecting on 6-of-11 (66.7 percent) 3-pointers up until
halftime.
A McNees triple cut the deficit to five with 10:44 remaining in the
first half, but a 10-3 RedHawk run pushed the lead to 12 (27-15)
with 5:35 before the break – Miami's largest during the first
20 minutes. McNees would then rally Akron by himself, with three of
his four first-half triples coming in the span of two minutes. All
told, 11 of his 14 first-half points came in the final 4:04 leading
up to the intermission.
Akron faces top-seeded Bowling Green in Friday's semifinal at
Quicken Loans Arena. Tip time for that game is set for 9:30 p.m.
EDT and the contest will be televised regionally, but not on FS
Ohio as previously publicized due to the Cleveland Cavaliers game.
Please continue to check GoZips.com, or consult your
cable/satellite provider for channel assignment.
