The University of Akron Athletics
University of Akron
Northern Illinois
McAdams Leads Men's Basketball to 68-53 Win at NIU
January 12 | Men's Basketball
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DeKALB, Ill. – A career and game-high 20 points by freshman wing Reggie McAdams helped propel the Akron Zips to a 68-53 victory over Northern Illinois on Saturday afternoon in a Mid-American Conference crossover contest in DeKalb, Ill.
McAdams finished the game shooting 6-of-6 from the field and 4-of-4 from behind the arc to lead four Akron (11-4, 2-0 MAC) players in double figures. Nick Harney (12), Demetrius "Tree" Treadwell (11) and Deji Ibitayo (11) also reached double digits. The win was the seventh-straight overall for the Zips.
For the game, Akron shot 47.8 percent from the floor (22-of-46) and 31.3 percent from long range (5-of-16). The Zips won the rebounding battle 38-33 in a game that saw a combined 46 fouls and 59 free throw attempts.
Darrell Bowie led Northern Illinois (3-11, 1-1 MAC) with 13 points.
NIU cut the Akron advantage to nine points on several occasions to open the second half, but the Zips answered every time on their next possession. However, an Aksel Bolin 3-pointer with 11:29 remaining cut the Akron lead to 47-41.
Four-straight free throws by the Zips – two by Forsythe and two by Abreu – put Akron back on top by 10 (51-41) with 9:55 to go in the game.
From that point, the Zips put together a 15-6 run over the next 5:46 to take control of the game at 66-47 by the final media timeout (3:20). Akron would hold a lead no smaller than 15 down the stretch to defeat NIU 68-53.
Both teams struggled out of the gate, both shooting and with fouls. By the under-12 media timeout, the teams had combined for 15 total fouls and would shoot the bonus for the rest of the half.
NIU took an early 4-0 lead and UA slowly took the lead. The Zips would hold a slim 10-9 advantage with 11:48 left in the half. At that point, Akron was shooting 33.3 percent from the floor (4-of-12) and 0-of-3 from long range.
Akron would open up a 22-11 advantage by the 8:35 mark thanks to a 12-2 run. McAdams helped spark the run with six points in a one-minute stretch. The lead would grow to 14 points (27-13) with 6:57 to go before halftime. The Zips went 8-of-12 from the field during their run.
The Zips would maintain a lead no smaller than 10 points and would hold a 36-24 advantage at the half. UA closed the first 20 minutes shooting 48.1 percent from the floor (13-of-27) and 30.0 percent from 3-point land (3-of-10).
The two stories of the first half were McAdams' 12 points of 4-of-4 shooting and the 25 total fouls in 20 minutes. Akron committed 13 fouls in the opening half and both teams combined for 35 free throw attempts.
Akron returns to Rhodes Arena on Wednesday, Jan. 16, when it plays host to Ball State. Tip off is set for 7 p.m. ET.
Zips Notebook: Reggie McAdams' previous high of 12 points came at Coastal Carolina in the season-opener on Nov. 9 ... McAdams is also the fourth Zips player to score at least 20 points this season (Zeke Marshall, Chauncey Gilliam and Demetrius "Tree" Treadwell) ... the win snapped a four-game road losing streak ... Akron has now held at least share of the MAC East lead for 11-straight weeks during conference play.
