The University of Akron Athletics
University of Akron
Princeton
Men's Basketball Makes Late Defensive Stand to Down Princeton 62-58
December 30 | Men's Basketball
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AKRON, Ohio – A sky hook from Zeke Marshall with 1:33 remaining and a defensive stop late in the game was enough to give University of Akron Head Coach Keith Dambrot his 300th career win as the Zips defeated Princeton 62-58 on Sunday at James A. Rhodes Arena.
Marshall's bucket came on an inbounds play with one second left on the shot clock. A screen by Demetrius "Tree" Treadwell helped give Marshall the open look that game Akron (8-4) a 59-56 lead.
Marshall finished with a game-high 17 points to go with four rebounds, two assists and a blocked shot. Nick Harney scored 16 points and had one rebound, one steal and an assist.
Pat Forsythe scored a career-high nine points while adding five rebounds and two blocks. Alex Abreu and Treadwell were also major contributors as Abreu scored ten points and had seven assists, while Treadwell had eight points and six rebounds.
Denton Koon was the Tiger's (5-7) leading scorer with 16 points.
The Zips took the lead with 18 minutes to go in the first half and did not relinquish that lead until Princeton tied the game with less than 20 seconds left in the half. The teams went into the break tied 27-27.
Marshall was Akron's leading scorer of the first half with nine points adding two rebounds, two assists and a block. Harney and Treadwell each scored six points while Princeton's Ian Hummer led all scorers with 10 points.
Akron immediately reaffirmed their lead in the second half. Princeton matched every Akron possession however, never allowing the Zips to lead by more than six in the final 20 minutes.
Princeton took the lead 45-44 with 9:45 remaining in the second half. It was their first lead since the opening exchanges of the game.
Momentum continued to swing back and forth and Akron would not establish dominance until the three-minute mark when Treadwell gave Akron a 57-56 lead. Marshall then hit a desperation hook-shot as the shot clock expired extending the lead to three.
Akron's lead would remain at three until Princeton missed a desperation 3-point field goal attempt with less than 5 seconds left in the game. Marshall was fouled and made one of his two free throws to seal Akron's 62-58 win.
The Zips shot 53.1 percent from the field (26-of-49) and 72.7 percent from the free throw line (8-of-11). However Akron could not find their touch from beyond the arc shooting just 15.4 percent (2-of-13).
Despite being out-rebounded 28-22 by the Tigers, Akron scored 48 of their 62 points in the paint.
Akron will look to extend its winning streak to five games when they take on Coppin State at home on Wednesday, January 2, at 7 p.m. ET.
Zips Notebook: With seven assists on the night, Alex Abreu moved into fifth place on the Akron career assists list with 347 for his career ... he passed former Zip Andy Hipsher (344, 2000-04) ... Akron concludes the month of December with a 44-19 record (.698) in nine Decembers under Dambrot, including a 31-3 mark at home (.912) ... Zeke Marshall now needs just three points to become the program's 40th member of the 1,000-point club (997).
