Zips Lead for 41-Plus Minutes but Fall in Overtime, 64-62

Saturday, February 24

Akron, OH

2 p.m.

University of Akron

12-16 (5-111

Miami

15-14 (8-8MAC)

OT 1

Miami

AKRON

Zips Lead for 41-Plus Minutes but Fall in Overtime, 64-62

February 24 | Men's Basketball

Box Score

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AKRON, Ohio – Despite not trailing for the first 43-plus minutes of the game, Akron dropped a 64-62 overtime decision to visiting Miami in Mid-American Conference play Saturday afternoon at James A. Rhodes Arena.

Sophomore guard Daniel Utomi (Houston, Texas) topped all scorers with 24 points to pace the Zips. Freshman guard Eric Parrish (Cypress, Texas) added 15 and junior guard Jimond Ivey (Cleveland, Ohio) contributed 11 coupled with 12 rebounds for his third double-double this season.

While the Zips led most of the game, Miami closed to within one, 44-43, on a dunk by senior forward Logan McClane with 4:32 remaining in the game. McClane, who led the RedHawks (15-14, 8-8 MAC) with 23 points, helped power the Miami comeback with several baskets from close range.

A putback basket by junior guard Darrian Ringo moments later knotted the game at 51-all with 1.9 seconds left in regulation, forcing the extra session.

In overtime, Akron pushed ahead by as many as six before Miami staged a final rally, with McClane scoring the winning points on a layup in the closing minutes and Rod Mills adding an insurance point on a free throw.

Defense dominated the day in the first half as Akron held Miami to 4-of-24 (16.7 percent) marksmanship to allow the Zips to claim a 31-17 lead at intermission. Additionally, Akron forced nine turnovers in the opening 20 minutes, all while shooting 12-of-23 (.522) on offense en route to its 17-point halftime lead.

A stalwart defensive effort in the early going allowed Akron to steadily build a large lead as the Zips (12-16, 5-11 MAC) allowed Miami to make just 1-of-15 shots in the first eight minutes of the contest. The Akron backcourt played an unusual role in the effort, blocking three shots during the span, including two by Duvivier.

On the other end, Parrish and Utomi helped spark a 14-4 start with five points each, including multiple baskets in transition as the Zips used their defense as a springboard to get out and run the floor.

Miami made a run early in the second half, slicing the Akron edge down to nine points on a conventional three-point play McClane with 15:51 remaining in the game. Once again, the Zips responded, as back-to-back dunks by freshman forward Mark Kostelac (Cleveland, Ohio) and Utomi helped build the lead back to 14 points before Miami closed the gap for good.

From there, the two teams battled back and forth, with a contested foul call against Ivey wiping out a potential three-point play in the final minute with Akron clinging to a 50-47 lead.

Akron returns to action Tuesday at 7 p.m., traveling to Buffalo to take on the MAC East-leading Bulls. Tip is scheduled for 7 p.m. and the game can be seen on ESPN3 and heard on 1350-AM.