The University of Akron Athletics
University of Akron
Bluffton
Men's Basketball Cruises to 92-53 Win Over Bluffton on Saturday
December 20 | Men's Basketball
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AKRON, Ohio – The University of Akron men's basketball team opened a four-game home stand on Saturday night with strong performances on both ends, shooting 56.1 percent from the field and forcing 28 turnovers in a 92-53 victory over Bluffton at James A. Rhodes Arena.
Akron (7-4) finished the night shooting 37-of-66 from the field and 8-of-21 from long range (38.1 percent). The Zips' defense posted 17 steals and converted the Beavers' 28 turnovers into 34 total points.
Three Zips posted double-figures as Akron placed 13 different players in the scoring column for 48 bench points.
Pat Forsythe led the Zips with 14 total points after a perfect 6-for-6 showing from the field to go with four steals and a team-high six boards, four of which came on the offensive end. Despite his rebounding effort, UA lost the rebounding battle for the first time in the last six games, 32-28.
After making the first start of his collegiate career, redshirt freshman B.J. Gladden chipped in 11 points, going 5-for-8 from the field.
Nyles Evans connected on three shots from long range en route to racking up 11 points to round out the Zips' double-figure scoring.
The Zips outscored Bluffton (4-3) in the paint, 52-24.
BU's Thayne Recker led all players in scoring with 16 points to go with a game-high seven rebounds and a pair of dimes.
Gladden opened the game going coast-to-coast on a pair of fastbreak dunks, helping Akron to an 11-0 start while the defense held the Beavers scoreless for the first four minutes of play. UA forced five turnovers on Bluffton's first six possessions as four different Zips contributed points to the game-opening run.
Reggie McAdams netted a pair of triples and Evans would follow, connecting on a long ball of his own and a layup to give Akron a 30-14 advantage with 9:17 remaining in the first half.
UA used the final two minutes of the opening period to post seven uninterrupted points and led by 21 (48-27) at the intermission.
All 11 Zips who saw action in the first half were noted scoring column as Akron shot 54.3 percent (19-of-35) from the field and forced 12 first-half Bluffton turnovers. Akron converted those takeaways into 20 points on the offensive end.
Akron returned to the floor and continued its run that started at the 1:33 mark of the first-half to outscore the Beavers 23-6 for a 64-33 lead with 15:05 on the clock. The Zips forced seven turnovers in that span.
The Zips continued to score in bursts while holding the Beavers scoreless as Akron posted runs of at least seven uninterrupted points on five separate times throughout the second half. Akron would take a game-high 41-point lead (83-42) with 5:54 left in the game to keep it out of reach for Bluffton.
After taking a short holiday break, the Zips return to action and continue their home stand when they play host to Marshall on Tuesday, Dec. 30. Tip off is set for 7 p.m. ET at James A. Rhodes Arena.
Zips Notebook: Redshirt freshman B.J. Gladden made his first collegiate start ... 13 of the 14 Zips that saw action in tonight's contest scored at least two points ... with tonight's performance, nine of Akron's 14 players have at least one game with 10-plus points this season ... Akron forced 25-plus turnovers for the first time since Nov. 12, 2010, when the Zips forced Millikin into 26 turnovers (28 tonight) ... the Millikin game was also the last time the Zips had 15 or more steals (17 tonight).
