Akron Remains Unbeaten at Home, Defeats Southern 72-57

Sunday, December 8

Akron, Ohio

2 PM

University of Akron

7-2,0-0MAC

Southern University

3-6,0-0SWAC

Southern U.

Akron

Akron Remains Unbeaten at Home, Defeats Southern 72-57

December 08 | Men's Basketball

Box Score

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AKRON, Ohio – Powered by another big day from senior guard Tyler Cheese (Albany, Ga.), the Akron Zips downed the visiting Southern Jaguars 72-57 in a rare Sunday afternoon game at James A. Rhodes Arena.

Four Zips scored in double figures as Cheese led Akron with 21 points, senior Xeyrius Williams (Springfield, Ohio) added 15, senior Channel Banks (Las Vegas, Nev.) contributed 14 and junior Camron Reece (Oakland, Calif.) notched 11 points for the Zips in the victory. Junior Loren Cristian Jackson (Chicago, Ill.) topped all players with six assists, while Reece and senior Deng Riak (Melbourne, Australia) corralled a game-high seven rebounds each.

Earning a third straight win was no easy task for Akron, which got a battle from opening tip-off to final buzzer from the visiting Jaguars. The game saw five ties and five lead changes and the Zips (7-2) weren't able to take full control until an extended 23-6 run over a span of 11:08 put them nine points clear of the visitors.

It was a game that saw Akron win on the strength of its 3-point and free-throw shooting early and its defense down the stretch. The Zips sank nine shots from beyond the arc to the Jaguars' four and posted a 19-5 scoring advantage at the charity stripe. After intermission, Akron held Southern (3-6) to 22 points, no made 3-pointers and 36-percent shooting from the field.

The first half was a back-and-forth affair that saw the visitors edge ahead multiple times, only for the Zips to fight back behind 3-pointers and transition hoops.

The 35-34 halftime score in favor of Southern, perfectly encapsulated an opening 20 minutes that saw the two teams dead even in multiple statistical categories, including offensive rebounds (4-4), defensive rebounds (14-14), assists (8-8) and points off turnovers (5-5).

Akron kept itself in the game with a 7-1 scoring edge at the foul line as Cheese (15 points) and Williams (eight points) accounted for two-thirds of the offense for the Zips before the break. With four lead changes and three ties before halftime alone, it was a seesaw contest in which neither team was able to fully wrest away control and keep it.

Senior center Amel Kuljuhovic led Southern with 18 points and six rebounds and junior guard Montese Blake added 13 in defeat for the Jaguars.

Jackson drained a key triple midway through the second half to cut the deficit to two, 43-41, and a layup by Reece on Akron's next possession tied the game at 43-all. A 3-pointer from the right wing moments later gave the hosts their first lead of the second half as part of an 11-2 run and put the Zips in front 49-45.

Akron will enjoy a week off from games before returning to action on Dec. 15 when Concord University comes to town for a 2 p.m. contest. The game 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.