Akron Leads Wire to Wire in 82-60 Win over YSU

Thursday, November 21

Akron, Ohio

7 PM

University of Akron

4-1,0-0MAC

Youngstown State

2-3,0-0Horizon

Youngstown St.

Akron

November 21 | Men's Basketball

Box Score

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Post Game Press Conference and Highlights

AKRON, Ohio – In arguably their most complete offensive outing of the young season, the Akron Zips routed the visiting Youngstown State 82-60 in their third game of the Global Sports Shooutout on Thursday at James A. Rhodes Arena.

The Zips blazed away at a 40.6-percent clip from 3-point range, including a first half in which they made six 3-pointers and hung 43 points on the Penguins. On the night, Akron sank 13 triples, accounting for nearly half of its offense from beyond the arc in amassing its third consecutive win.

It was a balanced scoring effort as four players reached double figures and six scored seven or more points, with senior guard Tyler Cheese (Albany, Ga.) and junior guard Loren Cristian Jackson (Chicago, Ill.) leading all scorers with 19 points. Senior guard Channel Banks (Las Vegas, Nev.) contributed 12 points and junior forward Cameron Reece (Oakland, Calif.) narrowly missed a double-double with 10 points and seven rebounds.

Cheese was an all-around standout on the night, nearly besting his season high in points to go with seven rebounds, three assists, one steal and one blocked shot. He finished just shy of his season high of 20 points, tallied last week in a home win over North Carolina Central.

On the other end, Akron stymied the Penguins (2-3) all night long, holding them to 32.4-percent shooting, including just 27.3 percent in the first half as the Zips (4-1) steadily built a 43-25 halftime lead. Multiple blocked shots and forced turnovers gave Akron chances in transition and they notched seven fast break points before the break and had 11 points total off turnovers.

Balance was also the formula for the hosts in terms of their rotation, as eight players saw eight or more minutes of court time in the first 20 minutes. Their lead steadily rose throughout the half, reaching double digits on a layup by Reece with 9:24 left in the opening frame, and stayed there the rest of the evening.

Youngstown State was never able to make a sustained run after the half as Akron remained consistent on both ends of the court and again received contributions from a litany of scorers.

Shaking off attempted full-court pressure from the visitors, the Zips found openings and downed floaters in the lane, layups and long-range attempts as Cheese, Banks and senior forward Xeyrius Williams (Springfield, Ohio) powered the hosts down the stretch.

Williams grabbed a game-best 11 rebounds in the contest, adding fuel to the Akron fire with hustle and defense on a night when his shots weren't falling

The Akron lead swelled to as many as 25 points as they poured it on behind consecutive 3-pointers by Jackson and one defensive stop after another.

Akron takes to the road for its next game, visiting the No. 2 Louisville Cardinals on Sunday in their final game of the Global Sports Shootout. Tip is slated for 6 p.m. at the KFC Yum! Center and the contest can be heard on 1350-AM and seen on the ACC Network.

The Zips' next home contest is Nov. 29 at 7 p.m. when Merrimack College visits Rhodes Arena for a non-conference tilt.