The University of Akron Athletics
University of Akron
Toledo
Marshall Powers Men's Basketball to 71-56 Win at Toledo
January 23 | Men's Basketball
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TOLEDO, Ohio – Zeke Marshall flirted with the program's first triple-double as the Akron Zips defeated the Toledo Rockets 71-56 to win their tenth-straight game overall on Wednesday night.
Marshall tied his own school record with nine blocked shots, including seven in the first half, to go with a game-high 18 points and eight boards. Demetrius "Tree" Treadwell recorded his second-straight double-double with 10 points and 11 boards. Chauncey Gilliam (12) and Alex Abreu (11) also reached double figures. Abreu tied his season high with nine assists.
Akron's 10-game winning streak is the longest since UA won 14-straight games during the 1972-73 season.
For the game, the Akron (14-4, 5-0 MAC) shot 44.4 percent from the floor (28-of-63) and 43.5 percent from long range (10-of-23). UA held a 43-34 advantage on the boards and held a commanding 24-6 margin in second-chance points.
Rian Pearson led Toledo (6-10, 2-3 MAC) with 16 points and eight rebounds.
Toledo opened the second half on an 11-4 run to cut Akron's lead to 40-32, forcing the Zips to call a timeout with 15:45 left in the game. Three-pointers by Abreu and Gilliam sandwiched around a Toledo bucket helped the Zips lead back to 12 points (46-34).
From there, the Zips began to heat up, hitting 3-pointers on five-straight possessions to open up a 55-39 lead with 11:24 remaining in the game. During that stretch, Marshall tied his own school record with his ninth rejection of the game.
The Rockets tried to slowly chip away at the Zips' advantage, closing the gap to 57-46 with 8:00 to go. That would be the closest the Rockets would come as Akron would outscore Toledo 14-10 down the stretch.
Reggie McAdams' 3-pointer with 13:00 left in the first capped off a solid first seven minutes for the Zips as Akron opened up an 18-6 lead. The Zips would push that lead to 23-8 by the 11:26 mark.
Akron kept the pressure on Toledo to take a 36-21 lead into the intermission. Marshall led the Zips with nine points and four rebounds while putting on a shot blocking clinic with seven swats. Treadwell added eight points, eight rebounds.
The Zips forced six Toledo turnovers and held a 25-20 advantage on the boards while shooting 41.7 percent from the field (15-of-36).
Akron returns home to play host to Buffalo on Saturday, Jan. 26. Tip-off is set for 7 p.m. ET. The first 1,500 fans will receive a limited-edition LeBron James bobblehead.
Zips Notebook: Zeke Marshall also had nine blocked shots against Kent State in the Mid-American Conference tournament championship game on March 12, 2011 ... Alex Abreu also had nine assists against UNC Asheville on Nov. 16 ... Akron has now won seven-straight games against the Rockets and three-straight at Savage Arena.
