The University of Akron Athletics
University of Akron
22-5 (12-2MAC)
Kent State
15-12 (7-7MAC)
Zips Fall in Wagon Wheel Showdown, 70-67
February 17 | Men's Basketball
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AKRON, Ohio- The Akron Zips 30-game home winning streak came to an end on Friday night as the Zips suffered a 70-67 setback against rival Kent State in front of a sold-out James A. Rhodes Arena crowd.
In the first of two games of the Crystal Clinic Wagon Wheel Challenge, the Golden Flashes picked up a valuable half of a point, but Akron Athletics still leads 3.5-2.5.                                                       Â
Senior Isaiah Johnson (Cincinnati, Ohio) paced the Zips (22-5, 12-2 MAC) with 18 points and grabbed seven rebounds. Freshman Daniel Utomi (Houston, Texas) added 16 points off of the bench, while junior Antino Jackson (Houston, Texas) finished with 10 points.
Deon Edwin led the Golden Flashes (15-12, 7-7 MAC) with a game-high 21 points and pulled down seven rebounds. Jimmy Hall added 18 points, and Jaylin Walker rounded out the Kent State scoring with 16 points.
For the contest, the Zips shot 42 percent (22-of-53) from the floor and converted 78 percent (18-of-23) of their free throw attempts. The Golden Flashes connected on 43 percent (25-of-58) of their attempts and made 62 percent (13-of-21) of their attempts from the charity stripe.
Jackson got the scoring started for the Zips, connecting on a baseline jumper, but Kent State answered with two straight triples to take an early 6-4 lead.
At the first media timeout, Kent State held an 8-6 advantage. Utomi came off the bench and buried a corner triple to give the Zips their first lead of the game, 14-12. Jackson followed with a steal on one end and a transition layup on the other to push the Zips lead to five.
Freshman Emmanuel Olojakpoke (Houston, Texas) continued his dunking ways, finishing an alley-oop from Ivey to give the Zips a seven-point lead. Next, Utomi connected on his third triple of the half to extend the Akron lead to seven, 31-24, with four minutes to play.
The Zips failed to find the bottom of the net in the final three minutes of the half, but still entered the locker room maintaining a 36-31 lead.
The Golden Flashes came out of the locker room and scored four straight to cut the Akron lead to just one, but Ivey stopped the quick run with a jumper. Kent State took a 40-38 lead with 16:30 remaining in the contest.
Kent State used an 11-0 run spanning over six minutes take a 46-38 lead, holding the Zips without a field goal.
Utomi converted from the free throw line to stop the Kent State run and bring the Zips within six, 46-40. On the ensuing possession, Utomi connected again from downtown to cut the Akron deficit to just three points.
The Zips regained the lead after two layups from Johnson and one from Josh Williams (Akron, Ohio), but the Golden Flashes answered with four straight points to flip the scoreboard again, 51-47.
An old-fashioned 3-point play by Johnson cut the Kent State lead to just one, but the Golden Flashes responded with another triple to retake a four-point lead.
Cheatham followed with a three pointer, brining the crowd to its feet, and Robotham added a breakaway layup to tie the contest at 61, forcing Kent State to burn a timeout to halt the Akron momentum.
The Flashes took a 65-63 lead with 43 seconds remaining, but Johnson was fouled on the following possession and stepped to the free throw line with 29.9 seconds on the clock.
Johnson connected on the first, but Kent State grabbed the rebound after the second free throw and were immediately fouled.
The Golden Flashes converted both foul shots, forcing Akron to take a timeout with 21.0 on the clock, setting up one final possession.
Cheatham's three-point attempt fell shot and Akron was forced to foul with 6.1 ticks left on the clock.
Robotham converted three free throws after being fouled with 1.2 seconds left, but the Golden Flashes were able to inbound the ball and run the clock out.
The Akron basketball team will be on the road next week, traveling to Bowling Green and Buffalo. On Tuesday, Feb. 21, the Zips visit the Stroh Center for a 9 p.m. on Spectrum Sports. On Friday, Feb. 24, at 8 p.m., Akron will battle Buffalo at Alumni Arena.
Fans can also 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.
