The University of Akron Athletics
University of Akron
21-4, 11-1MAC
Eastern Michigan
13-12, 5-7MAC
21 Wins, 12 Straight Seasons: Akron Defeats Eastern Michigan 87-76
February 10 | Men's Basketball
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Ypsilanti, Mich. – The Akron Zips recorded its 21st win of the season on ESPNU, using 18 long distance shots and a 52.9 percent shooting effort from downtown to defeat Eastern Michigan 87-76 at the EMU Convocation Center on Friday night.
Under 13th-year head coach Keith Dambrot, the Akron basketball program has won at least 21 games in 12-straight seasons , something only a handful of Division I programs have accomplished. In fact, Akron, Duke, Gonzaga, Kansas, and Ohio State are the only programs to post 11-straight 21-win seasons, and of those five teams Akron (21-4), Gonzaga (24-0) and Kansas (21-3) are the only programs to already accomplish that feat this year. Duke (19-5) and Ohio State (15-10) need just a few more wins.
The Zips (21-4, 11-1 MAC) had five players score in double figures led by redshirt freshman Daniel Utomi (Houston, Texas) with a career-high 19 points. Utomi was perfect from beyond the 3-point arc, draining 5-of-5 shots from downtown and finishing 6-of-7 from the floor with a 2-of-2 effort from the free throw line in 15 minutes of action.
Senior Isaiah Johnson (Cincinnati, Ohio) added 17 points, five rebounds and five assists, while senior Kwan Cheatham, Jr. (Cincinnati, Ohio) collected 14 points, six rebounds, three assists, a blocked shot and a steal. Juniors Antino Jackson (Houston, Texas) ad Jimond Ivey (Cleveland, Ohio) rounded out the double-digit scoring with 13 and 12 points, respectively. Ivey grabbed a team-high seven rebounds, while junior Noah Robotham (Las Vegas, Nev.) dished out a team-best six assists.Â
As a team, the Zips dished out 22 assists for 27 field goals with only nine turnovers. Akron shot 52.9 percent from the floor (27-of-51) and behind the 3-point arc (18-of-34).
Eastern Michigan (13-12, 5-7 MAC) was led by Willie Magnum's 22 points followed by James Thompson (19) and Ty Toney (17). EMU shot 45.3 percent from the field (29-of-64), 41.7 percent from deep (5-of-12), and won the battle of the boards 39-26.
In the first half, Jackson started the scoring with a 3-pointer, but the Eagles used a 7-0 run for an early 7-3 advantage. Johnson ended the Eagles run with a layup, and EMU led 7-5 at the under-16 media timeout.
When play resumed, Ivey connected with a pair of free throws and buried a triple from the corner to give Akron a 12-11 advantage at the 14:06 mark. Sophomore Josh Williams (Akron, Ohio) followed with a trifecta, and freshman Tavian Dunn-Martin (Huntington, W.Va.) capped the Zips' 9-0 run with a triple, 18-11.
After an EMU bucket, Utomi added back-to-back 3-pointers to lift the Zips to a 10-point advantage, 27-17, with 8-minutes remaining in the half. EMU quickly cut Akron's lead to five points, and the two teams battled back-and-forth until the final media break at 3:57, 29-24.
During the closing minutes, EMU regained the lead 34-33, but Johnson's layup before time expired gave the Zips a one-point, 35-34 edge at halftime.Â
Akron opened the second half with a pair of free throws by Johnson and three long distance buckets from Robotham, Cheatham, and Jackson, lifting the Zips to a seven-point 46-39 lead at 15:52.
After back-to-back layups from the Eagles, Akron used a 12-2 run behind four 3-pointers to extend the lead to 14 points, 62-48, including two from Cheatham and one each from Utomi and Robotham.
Akron continued to bury the outside shot as Ivey and Cheatham found the bottom of the net on two consecutive possessions to give the Zips their largest lead of the game at 16 points, 70-54, with 7:43 remaining in regulation. Utomi added a triple and a pair of free throws before Jackson buried four free throws and Johnson completed an old-fashioned 3-point play and a pair of free throws to end the game.Â
The Akron basketball team will play back-to-back television games at James A. Rhodes Arena next week, beginning with Toledo on Feb. 14, at 7 p.m. Spectum Sports will televise the game, followed by a rivalry game with Kent State in the Crystal Clinic Wagon Wheel Challenge game on Friday, Feb. 17, at 7 p.m. ESPNU will broadcast from the JAR as the Zips look to keep the home-court winning streak moving. Fans can also follow the action on 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.
