The University of Akron Athletics
University of Akron
Coppin State
Three Double-Doubles Power Men's Basketball to 91-63 Win Over Coppin State
January 02 | Men's Basketball
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AKRON, Ohio – Zeke Marshall scored his 1,000th-career point and three Akron players posted double-doubles as the Akron Zips extended their winning streak to five games thanks to a 91-63 victory over Coppin State at James A. Rhodes Arena on Wednesday night.
The victory was a team effort as three Zips, including Nick Harney (14 points, 11 rebounds), Marshall (13 points, 12 rebounds) and Jake Kretzer (14 points, 12 rebounds) recorded double-doubles against the Eagles. It was the first time in the Division I era (since 1980-81) that Akron had three players record a double-double in the same game.
Harney, Kretzer and Brian Walsh led the Zips in scoring, each with 14 points. Demetrius "Tree" Treadwell pitched in with 13 points and seven boards.
The Zips (9-4) overpowered the Eagles on the boards, 61-32, leading to 18 second-chance points for the Zips.
Troy Franklin led all scorers with 26 points to pace the Coppin State (3-12) offense.
Three minutes into the game, Marshall broke 1,000 career points with a strong rebound followed by a dunk, putting Akron up 6-0.
Akron used height to its advantage as the Zips also recorded five blocks in the first half, three coming from Marshall, who ended the game with four total blocked shots.
After initially struggling to connect with the basket, the Zips improved to close off the first half shooting 39.5 percent from the floor (15-of-38). Akron led 42-27 at halftime thanks to an 18-2 run near the end of the half.
Well-executed full-court pressure from the Zips to start off the second half resulted in back-to-back turnovers and gave Kretzer four of his 14 points. Kretzer went on to join Harney as two Zips recording their first-collegiate double-doubles.
Intense defense from Akron kept the Eagles out of the paint, forcing them to shoot from outside the arc and keeping their shooting percentage down to 29.0 percent from the field (20-of-69), allowing the Zips to maintain a lead of at least 15 points throughout most the game.
This victory marks the fourth time this season the Zips have won by at least 25 points.
The Zips open Mid-American Conference play on Wednesday, Jan. 9, when they play host to Western Michigan (8-5) at James A. Rhodes Arena. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. ET.
Zips Notebook: Zeke Marshall now has 1,010 points and is the 40th Akron player to score 1,000 career points, the tenth under ninth-year head coach Keith Dambrot ... Alex Abreu's five assists on the night moved him into fourth place on the UA career list with 352, passing Nate Barnett (351, 1972-75) ... the Zips are now 139-20 (.874) when holding opponents to 65 points or less under Dambrot.
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