The University of Akron Athletics
Men?s Basketball Falls 84-76 to Miami (Ohio)
January 20 | Men's Basketball
The University of Akron men's basketball team dropped its third-straight decision, falling 84-76 to the Miami (Ohio) RedHawks Wednesday night at Millett Hall.
The Zips fall to 10-8 overall and 1-3 in Mid-American Conference play while the RedHawks improved to 8-10 overall and 3-1 in the MAC.
Akron closed the contest shooting 46.8 percent from the field (29-for-62) and shot 29.2 percent from long range (7-for-24). Miami (Ohio) shot 43.3 percent for the game (43.5 percent), 47.4 percent from behind the arc (9-for-19).
Nikola Cvetinovic led the Zips with 15 points and eight boards while Steve McNees, Brett McClanahan and Alex Abreu had 12 points each. Abreu added seven dimes for the second-consecutive game. Julian Mavunga led all scorers with 25 points.
The Zips would respond on the defensive end and cut the lead to 72-65 3:24 left in the game. Akron would still trail by seven with 1:29 to go in the game (75-68) but would fall 84-76.
Akron and Miami (Ohio) opened the second half trading buckets for nearly eight minutes before a McNees 3-pointer cut the Zips' deficit to 55-48 with 11:40 left in the game. However, the RedHawks would respond and extend their lead to 64-50 with 7:33 on the clock.
After a sluggish start by the Zips, trailing 7-0 with 15:37 to go in the first half, Akron responded with a 10-0 run over the next 1:58 to grab a 10-7 lead at the 13:39 mark. Both teams would trade buckets before the RedHawks opened a 22-15 lead with 8:35 on the clock.
Trailing by as many as 14 in the half, the Zips would cut the lead to nine points (37-28) on a bucket and free throw from Cvetinovic with 28.6 seconds to go before the half. The RedHawks would post the final bucket on the period and take a 39-28 lead into the locker room.
Akron closed the first half shooting 31.8 percent from the field (7-for-22) and 30.0 percent from 3-point range (3-for-10). The Zips were 11-for-12 from the charity stripe (91.7 percent). Cvetinovic led the Zips with seven points while Abreu and McClanahan added six points apiece.
The RedHawks were 15-for-34 from the field (44.1 percent) and 7-for-15 from long range (46.7 percent).
The Zips wrap up their early MAC East schedule when they play host to the Bowling Green Falcons on Saturday, Jan. 22. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m. ET and the contest will air on SportsTime Ohio.
Zips Notebook: Sophomore forward Quincy Diggs made his first start in the Akron Blue and Gold ... tonight's start is Diggs' third collegiate start (two at New Orleans) ... senior center Mike Bardo appeared in the starting line-up for the first time this season and for the 18th time in his career ... Bardo's last start came at Ohio on Jan. 20, 2009 ... the loss snapped a four-game winning streak for the Zips over Miami (Ohio).
