Zips Fall to RedHawks on Senior Night, 79-75

Tuesday, February 28

Akron, OH

7 pm

University of Akron

23-7 (13-4)

Miami (Ohio)

11-19 (4-13)

Miami

AKRON

February 28 | Men's Basketball

Box Score

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BOX SCORE (PDF) | PHOTO GALLERY | VIDEO HIGHLIGHTS | GAME NOTES (PDF)

AKRON, Ohio- The Akron Zips suffered a 79-75 setback against the Miami RedHawks on Wednesday night at James A. Rhodes Arena.

Before the contest, The Akron Zips recognized its 2017 support staff and senior class before the game, including two student assistants, Sean Carroll and Trent Howard, and four players, Carlitos Anderson (Cincinnati, Ohio), Kwan Cheatham, Jr. (Cincinnati, Ohio), Isaiah Johnson (Cincinnati, Ohio), and Mark Noble (Akron, Ohio).

The 2017 senior class led the Zips to a 91-43 record over the last four seasons, becoming the 11th senior class with 90-plus wins. These seniors have led the Zips to three MAC Regular Season Championships, including back-to-back regular season titles and No. 1 seeds in the MAC Tournament in 2016 and 2017. This group has made postseason appearances in the National Invitation Tournament and College Insider Tournament.

Antino Jackson (Houston, Texas) scored 12 points for the Zips (23-7, 13-4 MAC), while Cheatham followed with 11 points. Noah Robotham (Las Vegas, Nev.) added 10 points, three assists and three steals.

Michael Weathers led the way for the Miami (11-19, 4-13 MAC) with 22 points and seven assists. Jake Wright added 17 points and Marcus Weathers rounded out the scoring with 14 points and pulled down six rebounds.

For the contest, the Zips connected on 51.9 percent (28-of-54) of their attempts from the field, while forcing 17 Miami turnovers. The RedHawks shot 55.1 percent (27-of-49) from the field and connected on 89.5 percent (17-of-19) of their free throw attempts.

Jackson struck first for the Zips, connecting on a triple from the right wing and Cheatham followed suit with a triple of his own to give the Zips an early 6-4 lead. Not to be outdone, Jackson buried another triple, this time from the top of the key, to push the Akron lead to five with 17 minutes remaining in the first half.

Miami answered with seven straight points to take an 11-9 lead, but a jumper from Cheatham tied the contest. The Zips retook a 15-14 lead after baskets from Johnson and Daniel Utomi (Houston, Texas).

Following a monster block from Emmanuel Olojakpoke (Houston, Texas), Jackson connected on another three-pointer and Utomi converted an and-one to give the Zips a 21-14 advantage with just over 10 minutes to play in the first half.

The RedHawks were forced to call a timeout after a triple from Jimond Ivey (Cleveland, Ohio) which gave Akron a 10-point lead. Miami cut the lead to five after the Zips encountered a nearly three-minute scoring drought, but two free throws from Jackson and a three from Robotham brought the Akron lead back to 10 with two minutes to play in the half.

Following the triple from Robotham, Miami used a 7-2 run to cut the Akron lead, but an alley-oop to Olojakpoke gave the Zips a 38-33 advantage heading into the halftime break.

Cheatham opened the second half scoring for the Zips with another triple and a Robotham three pushed the Akron lead back to 10 points with 15 minutes to play. Ivey joined the three-point party to increase the lead to 15 with just over 12 minutes remaining in the contest.

A Miami triple cut the Akron lead to 11 with 8:50 remaining, but Jackson responded with a trifecta of his own on the ensuing possession. The RedHawks used a six-point swing to cut the Akron lead to five points with five minutes left to play in the contest.

The Akron lead was cut down to just one point after a Miami three, but a layup from Aaron Jackson (Gahanna, Ohio) brought the lead back up to three with 3:13 on the clock.

Miami secured its first lead since the 13:25 mark in the first half after a transition dunk, but two free throws from Josh Williams (Akron, Ohio) gave Akron a one-point lead with 1:55 left to play.

Miami retook a one-point lead, but Johnson answered with an offensive rebound and put back to put the Zips back ahead by one point with 59.6 showing on the clock.

The RedHawks answered again with a basket to take a one point lead, and converted one free throw after an Akron foul to take a 76-74 lead with 30 seconds remaining.

Johnson was fouled with 19.2 seconds on the clock with the Zips trailing by two. He sunk the first free throw attempt, but missed the second and Miami collected the rebound and Akron was forced to foul immediately.

Miami converted both free throw attempts and collected the rebound after an Akron miss to secure the victory.

The Akron basketball team will travel across town to the M.A.C. Center for another Crystal Clinic Wagon Wheel showdown against Kent State, finishing the regular season schedule. The rivalry game is scheduled for 9 p.m. and will be televised by ESPN2. 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.