The University of Akron Athletics
University of Akron
8-3
Marshall
6-4
Robotham Drops 27 Points, Zips Win 23rd Straight at Rhodes Arena, 99-88
December 17 | Men's Basketball
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Akron, Ohio – Junior guard Noah Robotham (Las Vegas, Nev.) scored a career-high 27 points to lead the Akron Zips to their 23rd straight victory at James A. Rhodes Arena, defeating Marshall 99-88.
Robotham was a perfect 5-of-5 from beyond the 3-point arc in the first half, and finished the game shooting 6-of-7 from long distance, 8-of-9 from the field, and 5-of-5 from the charity stripe. He also contributed four assists and three rebounds.
Four others notched double digits in scoring as senior center Isaiah Johnson (Cincinnati, Ohio) followed with 16 points on a perfect 8-of-8 performance from the floor. He dished out team-best eight assists and pulled down eight rebounds.
Senior forward Kwan Cheatham, Jr. (Cincinnati, Ohio) was third in scoring with 15 points, with a 4-of-6 showing from deep. Junior guard Jimond Ivey (Cleveland, Ohio) and sophomore guard Josh Williams (Akron, Ohio) rounded out the double-digit scoring with 12 points apiece. Ivey pulled down a team-high nine rebounds wiith four assists, while Williams grabbed three boards.
The Zips (8-3) were on fire all night, shooting 58.6 percent from the field on 34-of-58 shots, including a 53.6 percent effort from 3-point land (15-of-28). At the charity stripe, Akron connected on 16-of-20 attempts for an 80-percent effort.
Marshall (6-4) was led by Stevie Browning with a game-high 31 points. It was the first time the Zips gave up 30-plus points to the opposition since Raven Lee of Eastern Michigan poured in 32 on February 14, 2015. Austin Loop followed with 24 points and Jon Elmore added 10 points.
Akron held a 36-23 advantage on the glass while causing 16 turnovers with seven steals.
The Thundering Herd shot the ball well too. They connected with 30-of-63 shots for a 47.6 percent showing, including a 12-of-27 efforts at the 3-point arc, 44.4 percent.
Akron open the first half with the hot hand, shooting 65.5 percent from the floor (19-of-29) and a blistering 73.3 percent performance from behind the 3-point arc (11-of-15). Johnson started the scoring with a strong post move in the paint. Robotham followed with a long distance shot for a quick 5-0 advantage.
The Zips extended the lead to 10 points, 19-9, by the 15:27 mark behind three shots from beyond the 3-point arc, two from Williams and one triple form junior guard Antino Jackson (Houston, Texas) and Ivey. Johnson added another layup.
Akron pushed the lead to as many as 14 points, but Marshall began to chip away at the lead, cutting it to seven points, 39-32, with 5:17 left in the first frame. Robotham answered with a 3-ball from the corner, and added a second trifecta to keep the Zips' lead at 10 points, 45-35. After a Thundering Herd layin, Robotham was sent to the free throw line, where he buried both bonus buckets. He followed with his fifth triple of the half to put the Zips up 50-37 with 2:33 remaining. The first half ended with a dunk by Marshall's Milan Mijovic, but Akron still had a double-digit lead at the break, 53-42.
In the second half, the Herd cut the 11-point deficit to two points, 59-57, but Akron's big fella, Johnson, didn't let that go any further as Cheatham found Big Dog for an easy score in the painted area.
After a few minutes of back-and-forth play, the Zips began to break it open again utilizing a series of small runs to establish an eight-point advantage, 92-84, capped by a Robotham three. On the ensuing possession, Ivey captured one of his two steals, which led to a breakaway dunk that brought 3, 598 Zips' fans to their feet. The Zips continued to increase the lead with an old fashioned three-point play from Cheatham to establish a 13-point, 97-84, advantage. Robotham drained Akron's final two points at the free throw line, and the Herd's Browning scored the game's last bucket with 23 seconds remaining on the clock.
The win gave 13th-year head coach Keith Dambrot his 286 victory at Akron, just two wins shy of tying the all-time wins leader, Russell Beichly. Akron moved to 168-23 at Rhodes Arena under Dambrot, which equates to winning 88 percent of their games at home.
Akron will travel to El Paso, Texas for the Don Haskins Sun Bowl Invitational on Monday, December 19. Akron is scheduled to play UC Irvine at the Don Haskins Center on Wednesday, December 22, followed by a win-loss situation on Thursday, December 22 against either Maryland Eastern Shore or Texas El Paso. wednesday's tipoff against UC Irvine is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET, while Thursday's game is scheduled for 5 or 7 p.m. ET. Fans can follow the action on GoZips.com via live stats or by the Akron-IMG Radio Network.
