Williams Three and Riak Block, Sends Akron to DC Holiday Hoops Fest Championship Game

Friday, December 20

Washington D.C.

2:30 PM

University of Akron

9-2,0-0MAC

Tulane

8-3,0-0AAC

Tulane

Akron

Williams Three and Riak Block, Sends Akron to DC Holiday Hoops Fest Championship Game

December 20 | Men's Basketball

Box Score

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WASHINGTON DC – The Akron Zips advanced to the DC Holiday Hoops Fest championship game on a late 3-pointer from senior Xeyrius Williams (Springfield, Ohio) and a blocked shot by senior Deng Riak (Melbourne, Australia) in the final 18.5 seconds for a 62-61 win over Tulane at the Entertainment and Sports Arena on Friday afternoon.

Akron (9-2) controlled the scoreboard for most of the game, but a late 12-0 run by the Green Wave gave Tulane a 56-53 advantage with 3:10 remaining in the game. On the ensuing possession, Akron junior Camron Reece (Oakland, Calif.) ended the Zips eight-minute scoring drought with a dunk, which cut the Tulane lead to one point, 56-55.

From that point, the two teams traded buckets as Williams nailed his first of two 3-pointers and senior Tyler Cheese (Albany, Ga.) split a pair of free throws to give Akron a 59-58 advantage with 1:53 remaining in the game.

Tulane (8-3) answered with a long-distance bucket of their own as Kevin Zhang buried his third triple of the game at the 1:32 mark, 61-59. Both teams followed with missed shots and Williams snagged the final defensive rebound of the game.

On the other end of the floor, Cheese found Williams in the far corner, and without hesitation, Williams fired the shot from deep to give Akron a 62-61 lead with 18.5 seconds remaining. Tulane immediately called a timeout and Akron relied on its defense to solidify the win.

In the final 18 seconds, Cheese nearly stole the ball from Tulane, but got tied up, resulting in a jump ball that the Green Wave retained possession with five seconds left. Tulane's Christion Thompson attempted the final shot of the game in the lane, but Riak denied the attempt and lifted Akron to the one-point victory. Riak set a career-high four blocks in the game.

Williams led the Zips scoring with 16 points and recorded his fourth double-double of the season as he grabbed a career-high 15 boards. Junior Loren Cristian Jackson (Chicago, Ill.) followed with 15 points, six assists and five rebounds, while senior Channel Banks (Las Vegas, Nev.) recorded 14 points and added a team best three steals. Jackson was 5-of-11 from the field with three triples and Banks buried 50-percent of his shots from the floor which included a 3-of-6 performance from long range.

Akron led for 32:53 and edged the Green Wave on the glass by one, 42-41. Teshaun Hightower led the Tulane offense with 18 points while K.J. Lawson (14), Zhang (11) and Thompson (10) chipped in double-digit scoring efforts.

With the win, Akron advances to the championship game at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 21. The Zips will play the winner of game two between Liberty and Towson. All games are scheduled to be broadcasted by FloHoops and can be heard on at SportsRadio1350.com, iHeart Radio, and TuneIn.com/AkronZips. Fans can also follow the action on GoZips.com via Live Stats.