The University of Akron Athletics
University of Akron
Creighton
Men's Basketball Drops 77-61 Decision at No. 16/13 Creighton
December 09 | Men's Basketball
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OMAHA, Neb. – The University of Akron men's basketball team dropped a 77-61 decision to No. 16/13 Creighton on Sunday afternoon at the CenturyLink Center Omaha.
Nick Harney led Akron (4-3) with 14 points, five boards, one assist and one blocked shot. Zeke Marshall finished with 12 points, two rebounds and two blocked shots.
The Zips shot 42.1 percent from the floor (24-of-57) and 23.5 percent from long range (4-of-17) while the Bluejays connected on 48.4 percent (30-of-62) and 45.5 percent (10-of-22) respectively.
Pat Forsythe had a nice game off the bench with six points, three rebounds and four blocked shots in 16 minutes.
Doug McDermott led Creighton (9-1) with a game-high 30 points.
The Bluejays came out in the second half and pushed their advantage to 15 points (51-36) at the 16:55 mark, but two 3-pointers by Jake Kretzer and a CU bucket made the lead 12 (51-39) heading into the under-16 media timeout.
Both teams had the hot hand through the first 8:28 of the second half, hitting on a combined 14-of-22 (63.6 percent). The Zips were 6-of-10.
A McDermott 3-pointer at the 9:09 mark gave Creighton its largest lead of the day at 65-48. Austin Chatman pushed that advantage to 20 (68-48) on the Bluejays' next possession.
A 6-0 run, including four-straight points by Harney, moved Akron within 68-54 at the 5:30 mark, but Gregory Echenique would hit two-straight to push the CU lead back to 18 (72-54).
Akron opened the game grabbing an early 8-5 lead at the 16:28 mark of the first half thanks to four points each by Harney and Chauncey Gilliam. However, Harney would head to the bench at the 16:10 mark with his second foul of the game.
Creighton used a 9-0 run over 2:37 to open up a 20-14 advantage by the 12:24 mark. An Alex Abreu 3-pointer at the 10:02 mark would end the Bluejays' run, cutting the lead to 20-17.
The CU lead climbed as high as 10 (30-20) with 5:55 remaining, but UA would battle back each time to keep the game close in the open 20 minutes. The deficit reached 12 points at the 1:32 mark and would remain 12 at the half with Creighton leading 43-31.
Akron closed the first half shooting 43.8 percent from the floor (14-of-32), but connected on just 12.5 percent from 3-point range (1-of-8). Creighton shot 53.5 percent from the floor (16-of-30) and 50.0 percent from long range (6-of-12). Akron won the rebounding battled 18-16, but committed six turnovers to Creighton's two.
Marshall led the Zips with 10 points, two boards and two blocked shots in the first 20 minutes. Abreu finished with five points, three assists and just one turnover.
The Zips will take a break for finals before heading to Detroit on Saturday, Dec. 15, to face the Detroit Titans. Tip-off is set for noon ET on FOX Sports Detroit.
Zips Notebook: Pat Forsythe previous high was three blocked shots against John Carroll on Nov. 12 ... the Zips fall to 40-18 in the month of December under ninth-year head coach Keith Dambrot ... today's game was the first time this season that Akron has committed more turnovers than its opponent (11-8).
