The University of Akron Athletics
University of Akron
Marshall
Men's Basketball Battles to a 70-63 Win Over Marshall
December 30 | Men's Basketball
BOXSCORE IN PDF | HIGHLIGHTS
AKRON, Ohio – Balanced and timely scoring lifted the Akron men's basketball team to a 70-63 victory over Marshall on Tuesday night at James A. Rhodes Arena as four Zips finished in double figures.
The Zips improved to 8-4 on the season, while the Thundering Herd fell to 4-9 overall.
Akron's offensive effort was led by junior Pat Forsythe who posted his first career double-double with 13 points and a career-high 10 rebounds, seven of which came on the offensive end. Forsythe went 5-of-9 from the field and recorded four blocks and a steal in his 26 minutes of action. The Zips racked up six swats on the evening.
"Pat's playing well," head coach Keith Dambrot said. "Right now when we sub him out, it hurts us. We need Big Dog to defend and rebound."
Freshman Noah Robotham matched Forsythe with 13 points to go with a pair of assists and four steals.
Junior Reggie McAdams connected on four shots from behind the arc for 12 points in 14 minutes of play, followed by senior Deji Ibitayo with 11 points after three triples to round out the Zips' double-figure scoring.
Akron shot 35.9 percent (23-of-64) from the field and 37.5 percent (12-of-32) from three-point range while going 12-of-18 from the charity stripe (66.7 percent). Marshall connected on 23-of-53 from the field for 43.4 percent and 10-of-23 from behind the arc for 43.5 percent.
UA dominated the offensive glass, posting 20 second-chance points and out-rebounding the Thundering Herd 42-32 with 18 offensive boards. Both teams posted 19 turnovers each.
Akron got on the board first; however, six early fouls and a pair of turnovers within the opening five minutes helped Marshall out to an early lead. The Thundering Herd held Akron scoreless for over six minutes as they scored 11 uninterrupted points for an 11-4 lead at the 13:23 mark.
The teams traded momentum as back-to-back long balls for McAdams erased the deficit as he connected on the first two triples in ten attempts for Akron. His buckets sparked an 18-2 run, giving the Zips a 22-13 advantage with 5:02 left in the half. B.J. Gladden contributed a pair of layups and netted a pair of free throws during the seven-minute run. The defense held the Thundering Herd offense without a field goal for five minutes.
Ibitayo added two triples while redshirt freshman Aaron Jackson and Robotham each also posted a longball before the end of the half for a 35-24 Akron lead at the intermission.
"We can't make any excuse," Dambrot said of his team's slow start in the first half. "We need to play better than that."
The Thundering Herd came within four points of the Zips on three occasions throughout the second half.
After six quick points for Marshall to start the half, sophomore Kwan Cheatham, Jr., and senior Nyles Evans connected on shots from long range, giving Akron a game-high lead at 43-30 (16:50) while a pair of layups fought off a 9-0 Marshall run, led by Loop with three-straight triples as Akron remained ahead 47-39 with 13:27 on the clock.
Marshall came within three of the Zips with 5:52 remaining, but the Zips would force two turnovers and bring the Akron lead to eight (66-58, 2:42). Robotham issued a 4-of-5 performance from the line throughout the final minute to help seal the victory.
"That's how it goes sometimes," Dambrot added. "You need to battle through. We have a lot of work to do."
The Zips continue their home stand as they wrap up non-conference play with Coppin State on Saturday, Jan. 3 for a 7 p.m. ET tip at James A. Rhodes Arena.
