The University of Akron Athletics
University of Akron
Kent State
Men's Basketball Clips Neighborhood Rival Kent State 58-54 on Senior Night
March 07 | Men's Basketball
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AKRON, Ohio – For the ninth-straight year, the Akron Zips have posted at least 20 wins in a season, this time sealing victory No. 20 with a 58-54 win over rival Kent State on Friday at James A. Rhodes Arena.
The Zips joined BYU, Duke, Florida, Gonzaga, Kansas, Louisville, North Carolina, Ohio State, Pittsburgh, San Diego State and Syracuse as the only teams with at least 20 wins in each of the last nine campaigns.
The win also gave Akron (20-11, 12-6 MAC) the No. 4 seed in next week's Mid-American Conference Tournament at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland. The Zips will play at 6:30 p.m. ET on Thursday, March 13.
Demetrius "Tree" Treadwell led the Zips with 14 points and six rebounds, including two free throws to seal the win. Deji Ibitayo finished with 11 points and was part of a 10-3 run to get the Zips back into the game.
Kellon Thomas led Kent State (16-15, 7-11 MAC) with 14 points.
After going down seven points early in the second half, Diggs and Ibitayo went on a 10-3 run for the Zips to tie the game at 37-all, forcing KSU to burn a time out (15:08). Kent State answered with six-straight points to push its advantage to 43-37.
This time, Nick Harney and Treadwell would lead the Zips on a 9-0 run to push the Akron ahead, 46-43, with just over eight minutes to go in the game. Reggie McAdams would cap the run at 12-0 with a 3-pointer from the corner to give UA a 49-43 lead with 7:10 to go.
Once again, Kent State answered the Akron run with an 8-1 run of its own to force the Zips to call time out with 4:09 remaining. Carmelo Betancourt tied the game at 51-51 at the charity stripe as the game entered the final four minutes.
Treadwell and Harney connected on back-to-back baskets to give the Zips a 55-51 lead with 1:36 on the clock.
After Betancourt missed two free throws with 38.9 remaining, Devareaux Manley's 3-pointer from the corner made it a one-point Akron lead (55-54) with 26.3 left. A Treadwell free throw made it 56-54 with 25.6 to go. Manley's 3-pointer would be short and the Zips would get the rebound with 12.8 on the clock. Treadwell would ice the game with two free throws to give the Zips 58-54 win.
Both teams showed some early jitters, combining to go 0-of-10 from the field through each team's first three possessions. Kent State used a 7-0 run to lead 13-8 heading into the under-12 media timeout.
The Kent State lead would fluctuate for most of the half, with a Nick Harney free throw tying it briefly at 25-all with 2:43 to go. However, the Golden Flashes would close on a 7-2 run to take a 32-27 lead into the locker room.
Quincy Diggs and McAdams led the Zips with five points each as Akron shot 37.5 percent from the floor in the half (9-of-24).
Zips Notebook: Director of Basketball Operations Dan Peters received his U.S. Basketball Writers Association Most Courageous Award during the first media timeout of the first half ... Zips Athletics recognized forward Quincy Diggs during Senior Night ceremonies prior to the game ... with the win, the Zips took a 5.5-3.5 lead in the PNC Wagon Wheel Challenge ... the victory also moved head coach Keith Dambrot into sole possession of fourth place on the MAC's all-time league wins list (129).
