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Western Michigan
Johnson's Free Throws Lifts Men's Basketball to 71-69 Win Over WMU
January 24 | Men's Basketball
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KALAMAZOO, Mich. – Isaiah Johnson hit four late free throws and the Akron defense stopped Western Michigan on its final possession to give the Zips a 71-69 win on Saturday afternoon.
Johnson, making his first start of the year, sank two free throws on a 1-and-1 to put the Zips up one with 1:05 to go. With the game tied at 69-all, he put Akron on top for good with two more freebies with 27.3 left.
The win snapped an eight-game road losing streak for Akron (13-6, 4-2 MAC) and gave the Zips the season sweep of Western Michigan (13-6, 4-2 MAC).
Johnson led the Zips with a career-high 16 points to go with a game-high eight rebounds. Noah Robotham was the only other Zip in double figures (12).
Both teams shot 42.9 percent from the floor (24-of-56), with the Zips shooting 42.9 percent from long range (9-of-21). Akron won the battle on the boards, 39-35.
Taylor Perry led Western Michigan with 17 points.
Both teams struggled early, unable to convert for points on their first four possessions. David Brown's 3-pointer on WMU's fifth possession put the Broncos on the board prior to the under-16 media timeout. The Zips would score on three of their next for possessions to take a 7-5 lead.
Akron used a 10-2 run to open up a 14-7 lead by the under-12 media timeout, with four Zips pitching in on the run. The Broncos answered, tying the game at 16-all by the 10:02 mark.
Over the final 10 minutes of the opening half, neither team would lead by more than four points until Robotham put the Zips up by six (36-30) with 1:53 to go. WMU scored five of the final six points of the half, but UA would take a 37-35 lead into the locker room.
The first 20 minutes saw two ties and seven lead changes in a half that both teams shot better than 45 percent from the floor (Akron 48.1, Western Michigan 46.4).
WMU scored the first five points of the second half, but Akron answered with seven-straight of its own to take a 44-40 lead (16:40). The lead would be short-lived, as the Broncos would tie the game prior to the under-12 media timeout (51-51).
Robotham gave the Zips a 57-53 lead thanks to back-to-back buckets (9:37). Kwan Cheatham, Jr., would be called for a foul, then a technical, with 8:35 to go, but WMU would make just two of its four free throw attempts to trim the Akron lead to 57-55.
After the Broncos tied the game at 57-all, Reggie McAdams and Aaron Jackson hit back-to-back 3-pointers to push the Zips back on top, 63-57, with 6:06 on the clock.
With 4:05 remaining, Antino Jackson would be called for a foul and a technical foul with the Zips up 65-59. WMU's Brown would sink 3-of-4 free throws and the Broncos would clean up the miss to make it a one-point (65-64) with 3:59 left in the game.
With the Zips leading by one, the Broncos would take a 68-67 leading, forcing Akron to call a time out with 1:26 to go.
Johnson would hit two free throws, putting the Zips up one with 1:05 to go. Following a WMU to tie the game, Johnson would hit two more free throws to give Akron a 71-69 lead.
Following a WMU timeout with 14.3 left, Brown's 3-point attempt would go long and a late scramble for the ball would burn the final seconds off the clock. Akron would hold on for a 71-69 win.
The Zips return home for one game when they play host to Ball State on Tuesday, Jan. 27, at 7 p.m. ET. Akron will play host to the Second-Annual Purple Out game in honor of the late Dan "Pete" Peters.
Zips Notebook: The Zips' coaching staff took part in the Coaches vs. Cancer Suits and Sneakers Weekend, donning sneakers on the sideline during today's contest ... Isaiah Johnson made his first start of the season (12th of his career) ... Johnson's previous high for points was 13 (twice) ... the Zips' last road win came at Bowling Green on Feb. 9, 2014 (65-63) ... UA has now won 26 of its last 30 regular-season games against MAC West opponents.
