The University of Akron Athletics
University of Akron
Bowling Green
Gladden's Late Bucket Gives Men's Basketball a 69-68 Win at Bowling Green
January 31 | Men's Basketball
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BOWLING GREEN, Ohio – B.J. Gladden's put-back with 3.4 seconds to go lifted the Akron Zips to a 69-68 road win over Bowling Green on Saturday night at the Stroh Center.
The Zips, trailing by as many as 10 points in the second half, rallied over the final eight minutes to win their 13th-straight over the Falcons.
Pat Forsythe led all players with a career-high 20 points to go with six boards, two assists and one blocked shot. Gladden added 11 points, including the game winner, to go with four rebounds.
Akron (15-6, 6-2 MAC) shot 40.4 percent the floor (23-of-57), but connected on just 27.3 percent from long range (9-of-33). BGSU shot 38.5 percent from the floor (20-of-52) and 28.6 percent from long range (6-of-21).
Richaun Holmes led Bowling Green (13-6, 5-3 MAC) with 11 points and seven rebounds.
Bowling Green opened the game by scoring on its first two possessions and held a 13-8 advantage at the under-12 media timeout (11:50).
Akron would keep the game close at the free throw line – making six-straight freebies – as the Zips would go nearly nine minutes without a field goal. A Zack Denny 3-pointer with 7:05 to go would give the Falcons their largest lead at the half (24-12). Two possessions later, the Zips would call their first timeout of the game after BGSU took a 26-12 lead (5:56).
The Zips would answer after the time out, going on a 10-0 run to close the gap to 26-22 with 3:15 left before intermission. BGSU would call its first time out looking to end the run. A second-straight 3-pointer by Kwan Cheatham, Jr., would make it a one-point game (26-25) heading into the final media time out of the half.
Akron would push the run to 17-3 over the final 5:49 to send the teams to the locker room tied at 29-29. The Zips shot 44.4 percent from the floor (8-of-18) over the final 9:53 of the half after opening the game shooting just 22.2 percent (2-of-9).
After BGSU opened a four-point lead to start the second half, Antino Jackson's 3-pointer tied the game at 33-all with 17:18 to go. BGSU would answer with a 3-pointer of its own to regain a three-point advantage.
The Falcons pushed their lead to five points on several occasions prior to the under-12 media timeout, eventually taking a 44-36 with 11:34 left in the game. Back-to-back buckets by the Zips cut the lead to 44-41 less than a minute later.
BGSU used an 8-1 run to open a 10-point advantage (52-42) with 8:34 to go, forcing the Zips to call their first timeout of the second half. A Cheatham 3-pointer with 7:32 to go would cut the deficit to 53-47.
Anthony Henderson gave BGSU a 57-50 lead on the Falcons' next possession on a 3-pointer and a free throw after Cheatham fouled him on the shot.
The Zips began to chip away at the deficit, with Forsythe's hook shot cutting the BGSU lead to 59-57 with 4:08 to go. On Akron's next possession, Gladden tied the game at 60-all with 3:43 remaining. Forsythe gave the Zips a two-point lead (62-60) at the line, Akron's first of the game, with 3:15 on the clock.
The lead was short-lived as the Falcons would make four-straight free throws to regain a 64-62 lead (1:59). Following a BGSU layup, Noah Robotham would hit a 3-pointer with 48.8 left to make it a one-point Falcon lead (66-65).
A Robotham jumper on the base line gave Akron a 67-66 lead with 25 seconds left, but Evans would be called for a foul on the defensive end. The Falcons would convert and Gladden would give Akron a 69-68 lead with 3.4 seconds left on the Robotham miss, setting up the Falcons' final play. Holmes' 3-pointer at the buzzer would fall short, giving Akron a 69-68 road win.
The Zips will conclude their two-game road trip on Wednesday, Feb. 4 at Ohio. Tip off is set for 7 p.m. ET and the game will air live on Time Warner Cable SportsChannel and ESPN3.
Zips Notebook: Pat Forsythe's previous career high of 17 points came earlier this week vs. Ball State ... the win moved the Zips into a tie for first place in the MAC East with Kent State ... Akron is 21-1 against Bowling Green under 11th-year head coach Keith Dambrot.
