Men's Basketball Opens MAC Tournament with Convincing 76-52 Win Over NIU

March 09 | Men's Basketball

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AKRON, Ohio – The Akron Zips shot 60.0 percent from the field in the first half and four Zips score in double figures in a convincing 76-52 win over Northern Illinois in the opening round of the 2015 Mid-American Conference on Monday night at James A. Rhodes Arena.

With the win, the Zips advance to Wednesday's second round at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland. Akron (19-13) will face Western Michigan, with tip off set for 30 minutes following the Bowling Green vs. Eastern Michigan contest (6:30 p.m. ET).

The win gave the Zips 19 on the season as Akron became just the 11th Division I program with at least 19 wins in each of the past 11 seasons. UA joins the likes of Duke, Gonzaga, Kansas, Louisville, Michigan State, North Carolina, Ohio State, Pittsburgh, VCU and Wisconsin.

Deji Ibitayo finished with a game-high 18 points and three assists in 22 minutes off the bench to lead the Zips. Reggie McAdams went 3-of-7 from beyond the arc and a perfect 4-of-4 at the charity stripe to score 15 points. Kwan Cheatham, Jr., added 12 points and Antino Jackson finished with 10 points and five assists.

Akron closed the game shooting 51.0 percent from the field (26-of-51) and 46.7 percent (14-of-30) from long range. Northern Illinois shot 39.2 percent from the field (20-of-51), and just 20.0 percent from beyond the arc (3-of-15).

Aaric Armstead led Northern Illinois (14-16) with 12 points and grabbed six rebounds and a steal.

The first four minutes of the game was all Akron as the Zips when on a 9-0 scoring run. Jackson started the run with a 3-pointer as the shot clock was expiring. Jake Kretzer capped off the Akron run with a wide open 3-pointer off an assist from Nyles Evans.

The Akron success continued as NIU struggled from the field. The Zips used a 16-2 run to extend their lead to 27-6 at the 10:47 mark in the first half. The Huskies shot 3-of-8 in the first ten minutes of the contest while turning the ball over six times.

The Zips continued to push the pace and play their style of basketball as the half played on. With 3:45 to play in the first half, Akron led 43-18 following a Jackson steal at half court led to Ibitayo running the floor for the lay-up, the foul and the and-1.

Akron scored 21 points off of NIU's 10 turnovers to help take a commanding lead, 48-20, into half time.

NIU came out from halftime with something to prove and went on an 8-0 run. Travon Baker found Armstead for a lay-up to end the run. Akron went 0-of-4 during the Huskies' offensive spurt.

The Zips hit back-to-back 3-pointers courtesy of Ibitayo and McAdams to extend their lead to 61-33 with 13:34 to play in the game.

After the quick start to the half for the Huskies they cooled off and the Zips picked it back up. Akron went on a 12-0 run midway through the second half to give Akron a 70-33 lead at the 9:45 mark.

The Akron lead would not drop below 20 in the second half en route to the 76-52 win.

Zips Notebook: The win for the Zips was No. 250 at Akron for 11th-year head coach Keith Dambrot ... Pat Forsythe returned to the lineup in a limited role after missing the Kent State game with turf toe ... Akron has now won at least one game in each of the last 11 MAC Tournaments ... the meeting between the Zips and Huskies was the first in the MAC Tournament.