The University of Akron Athletics
University of Akron
16-3 (6-0)
Eastern Michigan
12-7 (4-2)
Akron Sets James A. Rhodes Arena Record with 70-63 Win Over Eastern Michigan
January 20 | Men's Basketball
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AKRON, Ohio- The Akron Zips set the all-time longest winning streak at James A. Rhodes Arena with its 27th straight victory on Friday night, defeating the Eastern Michigan Eagles, 70-63.
The Zips' run ranks as the third best home winning streak in NCAA Division I basketball behind Kansas (52) and Oregon (37). The streak also replaces the 26-game winning streak that spanned three seasons under head coach Bob Huggins from 1985 to 1987. The Zips are 172-23 at the James A. Rhodes Arena under 13th-year head coach Keith Dambrot, boasting an 88.2 winning percentage and have not lost at home since Feb. 21, 2015 against Miami.
Isaiah Johnson (Cincinnati, Ohio) led the way for the Zips (16-3, 6-0 MAC) with 21 points, eight rebounds and three assists. Antino Jackson (Houston, Texas) added 11 points and six assists and Jimond Ivey (Cleveland, Ohio) chipped in 11 points. Senior Kwan Cheatham, Jr. (Cincinnati, Ohio) scored seven points and pulled down seven rebounds.
Ty Toney scored 17 points for the Eagles (12-7, 4-2 MAC) and Willie Magnum IV added 13 points.
For the contest, the Zips connected on 42.6 percent (23-of-54) of their shots from the floor and hit 26.9 percent (7-of-26) of their shots from behind the 3-point arc. The Eagles scored on 38.1 percent (24-of-63) of their attempts and hit 25 percent (4-of-16) of their shots from downtown.
Noah Robotham (Las Vegas, Nev.) started the scoring for the Zips, connecting on a triple from the top of the key and Cheatham buried a three of his own to give Akron a quick 6-0 lead. Jackson scooped up a loose ball and converted an easy layup to push the Akron lead to eight and force the Eagles to take a timeout.
Johnson converted an old-fashioned 3-point play to extend the Zips lead to nine with 14 minutes to play in the first half. Next, Ivey caught a pass in the corner from Johnson and connected on a three to give Akron a 19-9 lead with just under 11 minutes remaining in the half.
Cheatham and Emmanuel Olojakpoke (Houston, Texas) combined for a monster block and Cheatham followed the rejection with a triple from the top of the key, giving Akron a 27-15 lead heading into the under-8 media timeout.
Over the next four minutes, the Zips held the Eagles to 1-of-7 shooting and established a 34-22 lead. The two teams traded buckets, and Akron maintained a 38-28 lead heading into the halftime break.
The Zips and Eagles exchanged baskets to start the second half, and Akron maintained a nine-point lead with 15 minutes to play in the game. However, Eastern Michigan held Akron without a field goal for nearly three minutes, but an alley-oop to Ivey broke the scoring drought for the Zips. Johnson converted a second three-point play to put the Zips back ahead by 10 points, 52-42 with 9:24 left to play.
On the ensuing possession, Ivey threw down a monstrous alley-oop dunk off of a Jackson lob to bring the James A. Rhodes Arena crowd to its feet, and forced the Eagles into another timeout.
Robotham connected on another triple to push the Zips lead to 15 with just over seven minutes on the clock, 57-42. Johnson converted on two free throws with six minutes left to play to maintain the Zips 12-point lead.
Johnson used another layup and free throw to extend the Akron lead to 11 points, 63-52, with just under four minutes on the clock. Eastern Michigan answered with five quick points to cut the lead to six, 65-59, and forced Akron to use a timeout with 2:07 left to play. Toney followed layup, and the Zips saw their lead shrink to four points.
Jackson split a pair of free throws before he collected a crucial defensive rebound and converted both of his next two foul shots to give the Zips a seven-point lead,68-61, with 45 seconds remaining.
Clutch free throws from Johnson and Jackson halted the Eagles attempt at a comeback in the last seconds of the game and extended the Zips winning streak to nine games, with six of those victories coming in MAC play.
The Akron basketball team will continue Mid-American Conference, traveling to Kalamazoo, Mich. for a second meeting with Western Michigan on Tuesday, Jan. 24, at 7 p.m. Fans can follow the action on WatchESPN/ESPN3, GoZips.com via live stats, or by Zips' radio broadcast on Akron-IMG Sports Network available at SportsRadio1350.com, iHeart Radio, and TuneIn.com/Akron Zips.
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