The University of Akron Athletics
University of Akron
7-2
Bethune-Cookman
4-5
| Team | 1 | 2 | F |
|---|---|---|---|
| Bethune-Cookman | 24 | 36 | 60 |
| Akron | 41 | 40 | 81 |
Zips Use Balanced Score Sheet for 81-60 Victory Over Bethune-Cookman
December 12 | Men's Basketball
Follow Akron Basketball on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram | Follow Coach Dambrot on Twitter
AKRON, Ohio – Five Zips record double-figure scoring efforts as Akron (7-2) brushes off a slow start and hit 14 three-pointers en route to their fourth-straight victory, 81-60, over Bethune-Cookman (4-5) Saturday night at James A. Rhodes Arena.
Senior Jake Kretzer (Bainbridge, Ohio) led Zips with a game-high 16 points, 12 of which came from long range. Freshman Antino Jackson (Houston, Texas) scored 12 points, dished out five assists and grabbed five rebounds while sophomores Noah Robotham (Las Vegas, Nevada) and Kwan Cheatham Jr. (Cincinnati, Ohio) added 11 points each with a combined five three-pointers. Senior Pat Forsythe (Brunswick, Ohio) added 10 points.
Bethune-Cookman's two guards led the way for the Wildcats. Ricky Johnson scored a team-high 15 points and Jordan Potts added 12. The Wildcats big man Mario Moody chipped in another 12.
Akron hit on 41.3 percent (26-of-63) of its shots from the field in the game and shot a higher percentage from distance at 42.9 percent clip (15-of-35). Bethune-Cookman connected at 34.7 percent clip in the contest making 25-of-72 shots from the floor, and shot just 16.7 percent from the perimeter (4-of-24)
Back-to-back buckets by Robotham and Jackson got the Zips offense going after starting ice cold from the field shooting 0-for-4 from the field. Cheatham Jr. found Robotham wide open in the right corner and he nailed a three-pointer at the 16:39 mark. The next possession for the Wildcats resulted in a turnover. Jackson stole the ball at mid-court and sprinted to the basket for an easy two that brought Akron within one (6-7).
The Zips bench provided a spark to the offense and scored 11 straight points midway through the first half. Freshman Josh Williams (Akron, Ohio) entered the game and connected on back-to-back long balls to give Akron their first lead of the game (12-9). Kretzer added a pair of free throws and jumper from beyond the arc to increase the lead, 17-11, at the 9:43 mark.
Over a span of 4:29 minutes (8:23-3:54) Akron increased their lead to plus-14 on the effort of three 3-pointers and a pair of layups from a bundle of Zips players. Robotham, Kretzer and senior Reggie McAdams (Elida, Ohio) all found the bottom of the net from distance and Forsythe controlled the paint with two buckets.
The Zips attempted 32 shots from the floor in the first half, 20 of those attempts came from beyond the arc. Akron shot at 45-percent clip from long range in the initial stanza while Bethune-Cookman shot just 18.2 percent (2-for-11).
Akron and Bethune-Cookman would go back-and-forth in the first nine minutes of the second half. At the 11:51 mark, both teams scored 18 points in the half. The Zips continued to fire the ball from deep and connected on three more 3-pointers while the Wildcats scoring was spread out.
The Zips lead grew to as many as 23 at one point in the second half (15:48) but the Wildcats would cut it to 11 points with 6:40 to play. The score deficit would not drop below 11 in the final six minutes en route to the Zips 81-60 victory.
Akron returns to the court on Monday, Dec. 21 against UC Santa Barbara in the Zips first game of the South Point Classic in Las Vegas, Nevada. Tip off is set for 3 p.m. ET.
