Akron Wins MAC Opener, Defeats Eastern Michigan 69-45

Saturday, January 4

Ypsilanti, MI

Noon

University of Akron

11-3 (1-0MAC)

Eastern Michigan

10-4 (0-1MAC)

Akron

Eastern Michigan

Akron Wins MAC Opener, Defeats Eastern Michigan 69-45

January 04 | Men's Basketball

Box Score

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Ypsilanti, Mich. – The Akron men's basketball team used great shooting and defense for a 69-45 win on the road over Eastern Michigan on Saturday afternoon at the EMU Convocation Center.

The Zips moved to 1-0 in league play for the 20^th time in program history on the strength of 52.2 percent shooting from the floor and a sizzling 55.0 percent from beyond the 3-point arc. Akron never trailed in the contest, leading for 36:33 and by as many as 27 points before settling for the 24-point victory. The game was tied for 3:27.

Senior Tyler Cheese (Albany, Ga.) and junior Loren Cristian Jackson (Chicago, Ill.) led the Zips scoring efforts with 17 points each, while senior Xeyrius Williams (Springfield, Ohio) added a 16-point performance. Akron made 11-of-20 from deep as the high scorers combined for 10-of-16 from downtown. Williams registered an unblemished 4-of-4 showing while Cheese and Jackson followed with three triples apiece.

On the other side of the ball, Akron limited the home team to 27.1 percent (13-of-48) shooting from the field and 11.8 percent (2-of-17) from long distance. The Zips caused 19 turnovers and collected six steals as Williams accounted for half of Akron's total steals.

Akron (11-3, 1-0) won the opening tap and Cheese was fouled in pursuit of the Zips initial field goal. He buried both free throws, but the Eagles quickly tied the game at 2-2. After Williams' first 3-pointer, Eastern Michigan (10-4, 0-1) forced another stalemate at 5-5 on a Ty Groce three – Groce made both of the Eagles long-range shots en route to a team high 13 points.

Jackson recorded the Zips third field goal in the paint which sparked a 9-2 run and the Zips never looked back. By the end of the first half, Akron owned an 18-point, 38-20 advantage fueled by an 8-of-12 attack from deep by Akron. Jackson led the Zips with 15 points at intermission.

In the second half, the Eagles cut the Zips advantage to 11 points, 43-32, but back-to-back triples from Cheese and Williams halted the Eagles comeback attempt. Boubacar Toure was second in scoring for EMU with 11 points and added a game-high 17 rebounds as the Eagles held a 35-29 advantage on the glass.

Akron returns to the JAR for the MAC home opener against Western Michigan on Tuesday, Jan. 7 at 7 p.m. The league contest is scheduled to be broadcasted on ESPN+ 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.