The University of Akron Athletics
Men?s Basketball Wins Double-Overtime Thriller Over Miami
March 11 | Men's Basketball
For the second-consecutive season, the No. 6-seeded University of Akron men's basketball team needed double overtime to advance to the Mid-American Conference Tournament Semifinals, defeating No. 3-seeded Miami (Ohio) 82-75 on Thursday at Quicken Loans Arena.
The Zips (21-12), had to rally from a three-point deficit in the first overtime before sealing the game on a Brett McClanahan 3-pointer with 31.6 second left in the second overtime session.
Akron advances to face No. 2 seed Western Michigan tomorrow evening at Quicken Loans Arena beginning at 7 p.m. ET. The game will air live on SportsTime Ohio.
McClanahan lead all scorers with 20 points and grabbing a team-high nine boards. Brett McKnight added 16 points and six boards. Nikola Cvetinovic ended the game with 10 points, seven boards before fouling out with 8:14 to go in the second half.
The Zips closed the game shooting 36.5 percent from the floor (27-for-74) and 29.2 percent from long range (7-for-24). Miami (16-16) closed the afternoon shooting 40.0 percent from the field (24-for-60) and 29.2 percent from behind the arc (7-for-24).
Neither team could gain an advantage in the second half until an Alex Abreu lay-up with 2:41 to go in the second overtime to give Akron a 77-75 lead. McClanahan followed with his 3-pointer to advance the Zips to the semifinals for the sixth-consecutive year.
Both teams traded buckets in the first overtime, with Miami leading by three (68-65) with 3:17 to go before both teams would end the extra period knotted at 71 a-piece.
McClanahan followed suit with a 3-pointer of his own to push the Akron lead back to 60-56 with 1:36 to go. A Miami 3-point tied the game at 63-63 to send it to overtime.
Akron and Miami continued to slug it out, trading baskets before the RedHawks grabbed their first lead of the game at 55-54 with 2:47 left on the clock. The lead was short-lived as McKnight hit a big 3-pointer to take the lead back for the Zips at 57-55 with 2:22 remaining.
After Miami cut the lead to 36-24 with 14:06 to go, both teams exchanged baskets before a Cvetinovic lay-up gave Akron a 42-26 lead at the 12:42 mark. The RedHawks answered again, cutting the lead to 46-39 at the 7:44 mark on the heels of an 12-2 run.
Akron continued to play strong on the defensive end, holding Miami to just four points over the first 3:39 of the second half. Akron's play helped it push its lead to 34-14 during the same period.
The Zips jumped out to an early 11-2 lead with 14:45 to go in the first half, holding the RedHawks to just one bucket in six tries to force a Miami timeout. The RedHawks cut the lead to 11-6 with 11:00 to go before a five-minute delay to adjust the game clock slowed their comeback.
Akron would take advantage and make a 15-4 over the final 10 minutes to take a 26-10 lead into the locker room. Miami's 10 points were the second-fewest of any Akron opponent this season, as the Zips' defense held the RedHawks to 18.2 percent shooting from the field (4-for-22).
On the flip side, the Zips shot 33.3 percent from the floor (10-for-30) and held a 23-15 advantage on the boards. Cvetinovic led all scorers in the half with six points while McClanahan added five points.
Zips Notebook: With his appearance in today's game, senior guard Steve McNees now owns the school record for career games played (138), passing Chris McKnight (137, 2006-10) ... Akron held Millikin (Division III) to nine points in the first half (Nov. 12) ... Miami's 10 points were the fewest by a Division I opponent this season ... senior forward Brett McKnight passed Marcel Boyce (1,108, 1985-87) for 30th on the Akron career scoring list (1,117) ... Akron is now 9-3 all-time in double overtime games, including a 2-1 record on neutral courts.
