Zips Rout Miami to advance to Cleveland, 80-51

Monday, March 11

Akron, Ohio

8 PM

University of Akron

17-15, 9-10MAC

Miami - MAC Tournament Opening Round - Campus Sites

15-17, 7-12MAC

Miami (OH)

Akron Zips

March 11 | Men's Basketball

Box Score

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Post Game Press Conference

AKRON – For the 15^th consecutive season, the Akron Zips advance to Cleveland with an 80-51 rout of ninth-seeded Miami at James A. Rhodes Arena on Monday.

Combining some of their best shooting of the season with their trademark strong defense, the Zips rode a wave of 3-pointers for the win over the visiting RedHawks to propel themselves into the quarterfinal round of the Mid-American Conference Tournament on Thursday, March 14 at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland, Ohio.

It was a game Akron controlled from start to finish, never trailing and leading by double digits for the final 33:31 of the game, with the margin rising as high as 29. The Zips defeated Miami for the second time in 16 days, both at home, and this time to extend their season.

Sophomore guard Loren Cristian Jackson (Chicago, Ill.) led Akron with 25 points, but it was a balanced attack that also saw three players reach double figures as junior forward Daniel Utomi (Houston, Texas) tallied 20 and senior guard Jimond Ivey (Cleveland, Ohio) notched 14 along with six assists, two blocked shots and a steal.

As a team, Akron made a season-high 17-of-32 (.531) from 3-point range and held Miami to a paltry 25-percent shooting, erasing any ideas of a close game and routing their MAC East rivals in the rubber match. The two sides split their regular-season match-ups. The Zips made 14 triples in wins over Northern Illinois and Bowling Green, but not at the same red-hot clip as they did against a Miami team that entered the game fifth in the MAC in scoring defense.

The Zips (17-15, 8-10 MAC) were locked in defensively from the outset, using their stout defense to inch out to a 21-6 lead in the game's first nine minutes. During that span, they allowed the RedHawks (15-17, 7-11 MAC) to make just two field goals, neither from beyond the arc, while making 8-of-12 shots offensively and 5-of-8 on 3-pointers to establish a double-digit lead in the early going.

On the night, the Zips blocked seven shots and recorded nine steals. Junior forward Emmanuel Olojakpoke (Houston, Texas) denied a team-high three blocks, while Ivey added two. Sophomore guard Jeremy Roscoe (Chicago, Ill.) and Jackson each had one.

While their shooting cooled off a bit at the tail end of the first half, they still drained 7-of-15 long balls during that span as five different players connected on a triple for the Zips.

Utomi accounted for two of those Akron triples and had 10 points before the midway mark of the opening half. On defense, the Zips also forced 10 turnovers in the first 20 minutes and converted them into 10 points, further extending their edge to as many as 20 points.

Both Jackson and Utomi reached halftime in double digits with 12 and 10 points, respectively, with junior guard Tyler Cheese (Albany, Ga.) close behind with seven points of his own to send the eighth-seeded Zips to the locker room with a 39-24 lead.

Sophomore guard Nike Sibande led Miami with 25 points and 10 rebounds and was the only player to reach double figures for the RedHawks.

With the win, the Zips advance to play top-seeded Buffalo in a quarterfinal game set for Thursday, March 14 at noon at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland. The game can be seen on ESPN+ and heard on 1350-AM. For tickets, visit http://GoZips.com/Tickets . #OneAKRON