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Men's Basketball Pulls Away in Second Half in 70-58 Win Over Ohio
February 27 | Men's Basketball
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AKRON, Ohio – The Akron Zips found their offensive rhythm midway through the second half to pull away from the Ohio Bobcats, 70-58, on Friday night at James A. Rhodes Arena.
The victory ended a four-game losing streak for the Zips and a two-game slide at the JAR. With the win, Akron remains in the hunt for one of the top-four seeds in next month's Mid-American Conference Tournament.
Akron (18-11, 9-7 MAC) led Ohio by two points with 10:33 to play in the second half. Over the next five minutes, the Zips hit five 3-pointers to give them a 14-point lead and they did not look back.
Antino Jackson led the way for the Zips with 13 points along with a career-high five assists and three rebounds. Isaiah Johnson scored another 12 points for the Zips and added three rebounds and two blocks. Reggie McAdams pitched in with 11 points, including three 3-pointers.
As a team, Akron shot 42.6 percent (23-of-54) from the field and 39.3 percent (11-of-28) from long range. Ohio would go on to shoot 32.1 (17-of-53) percent from the floor and just 23.1 percent (6-of-26) from beyond the arc.
Ohio (9-18, 4-12 MAC) was led by Antonio Campbell, who recorded a double-double with a game-high 17 points to go with 11 rebounds.
The Zips opened the first three minutes of the game shooting 0-of-4 from the field and turned the ball turn twice, all while the Bobcats went on a 7-0 scoring run. The Ohio run was ended by a slam-dunk by Pat Forsythe from a Johnson assist for Akron's first points.
After trailing by seven early, Akron would tie the game three times in a six-minute span, but could not take the lead from the Bobcats.
The Zips would finally take their first lead, of the game (20-19) at the 4:50 mark in the first half after Antino Jackson drove the lane and made a lay-up. On the next Ohio possession, Campbell would regain the lead with a slam-dunk.
The Zips trailed for most of the half, but took a 27-23 lead into the intermission. The four-point advantage was their largest lead of the half.
Akron shot better at the beginning of the second half compared to the first. McAdams extended the Zips lead to 34-27 with a 3-pointer with 16:07 to play.
The Bobcats would come back to tie the ball game up at 35-all at the 14:08 mark when Javarez Willis made his second 3-pointer of the night.
Antino Jackson would hit back-to-back 3-pointers to give Akron a 48-40 lead with 9:05 to play. He was 0-for-4 from long range before sinking two in a row.
Akron extended their lead to 13 (55-42) with 7:04 remaining in the game courtesy of a 7-0 run. Antino Jackson hit a 3-pointer, while he and Deji Ibitayo hit two free throws apiece.
The Akron lead would not fall below 10 in the final four minutes en route to the Akron victory.
The Zips hit the road for their final two games of the regular season. Akron travels to Oxford, Ohio, to take on the Miami (Ohio) RedHawks on Tuesday, Feb. 3. Tip off is set for 7 p.m. ET.
Zips Notebook: The Zips honored seniors Deji Ibitayo and Nyles Evans prior to tonight's game as part of Senior night ... Akron has now won six of their last eight games against Ohio ... the Zips have won at least 14 games at James A. Rhodes Arena for the eighth time since the building opened in December 1983 ... Akron improved to 17-0 this season when leading with 5:00 remaining.
