The University of Akron Athletics
Akron Secures MAC Regular-Season Title, Defeats Buffalo 89-83
February 25 | Men's Basketball
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BOX SCORE (PDF)Â |Â GAME NOTES (PDF)Â
Amherst, N.Y. – The Akron Zips secured a share of the Mid-American Conference regular-season title after defeating Buffalo, 89-83, in front of a sold-out crowd at Alumni Arena on Friday night.
With the win, Akron moved to 23-6 overall and 13-3 in league play, and the Zips are one win away from clinching the No. 1 seed for the MAC Tournament with sole possession of the regular season title. Buffalo fell to 15-14 overall and 9-7 in the MAC.
For the seventh time this season, five Zips scored in double figures led by senior center Isaiah Johnson (Cincinnati, Ohio) with 19 points and six rebounds. Junior Noah Robotham (Las Vegas, Nev.) and sophomore Josh Williams (Akron, Ohio) added 16 and 15 points, respectively, while junior Antino Jackson (Houston, Texas) and sophomore Jimond Ivey (Cleveland, Ohio) followed with 14 and 13. All four players went 3-of-4 from long distance, combining for 12 of the Zips 13 made 3-pointers.
Blake Hamilton led the Bulls with 23 points. Willie Conner followed with 18 points, while CJ Massinburg and Nick Perkins added 17 and 13.
For the game, Akron shot 59.1 percent from behind the 3-point arc and 56 percent from the field (28-of-50) compared to the Bulls shot 41.1 percent effort from the floor (23-of-56) and 30.4 percent from deep (7-of-23). In addition, Buffalo scored 30 points at the charity stripe in an 81.1 percent performance (30-of-37). The Bulls won the battle of the boards 42-22.
The Bulls started the scoring as Massinburg drove to the rim for two points. The Zips responded with a trifecta from Ivey that sparked an 8-0 run. After a pair of Bulls free throws, Akron tacked on back-to-back 3-pointers from Robotham and Jackson. At the under-16 media break, Akron built a 10-point, 14-14 advantage.
Buffalo responded by chipping away at the Zips' lead, eventually tying the game at 22 points apiece at the 6:33 mark. Johnson stopped the Bulls 18-8 run with two points in the paint, and Ivey added a rebound and put-back for a 26-22 advantage.
Williams and Johnson lifted Akron's lead to six points, 30-24, on consecutive possessions before Ivey answered a Buffalo 3-ball with one of his own.
The closing moments of the first half belonged to senior Kwan Cheatham, Jr. With 19 seconds remaining, Cheatham buried a 3-pointer to put Akron ahead by five points, 33-38. On the other end of the floor, Cheatham blocked Buffalo's final 3-point attempt.
Akron carried the momentum into the second half, scoring the first five points as Robotham opened the half with two free throws followed by a step-back triple at the top of the key by Jackson. Johnson added a layup and Robotham capped a 10-2 run with a trifecta from the wing. The Zips added five more points, taking a 15 point advantage after two made free throws from Emmanuel Olojakpoke (Houston, Texas). Williams followed with a 3-pointer, stretching the lead to 16 points, 53-37, with 14:47 left in the game.
Two minutes later, Akron pushed lead to 17 points, 61-44, after another Williams' triple, but Buffalo followed with a run of their own. Over the next eight minutes, the Bulls outscored Akron 21-11 to cut the Zips lead to just seven points with 6:19 remaining in the game, 72-65.
Akron pushed the lead back to eight points on two different occasions, but the Bulls managed to stay within two possessions during the final two minutes of play. With 39 seconds left in the game Hamilton buried a long distance shot to bring Buffalo with in five, 87-82, but Robotham knocked down a pair of free throws to hold off the Bulls.
The Akron basketball team will be back at James A. Rhodes Arena against the Miami RedHawks for Senior Day on Tuesday, Feb. 28, at 7 p.m. on Spectrum Sports Network. The Zips will honor their four seniors before the game. 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.
