The University of Akron Athletics
Akron Basketball Set to Play St. Bonaventure at Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse
December 01 | Men's Basketball
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AKRON, Ohio – The University of Akron men's basketball program announced plans to host a nonconference game at Cleveland's Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse against Atlantic 10 opponent St. Bonaventure on Tuesday, Dec. 15 at 2 p.m.
In relation to current COVID-19 advisories, the game will be closed to the public and scheduled to stream live on ESPN+. Fans can also follow the action via Zips radio broadcast on 640 AM WHLO, Tunein and iHeart Radio as well as live stats on GoZips.com.
"This is a great opportunity for us to compete against a very good team in Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse," head coach John Groce said. "We are very appreciative of the special efforts of the Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse staff to make this happen."
The midweek contest marks the third meeting in series history between the Zips and the Bonnies as Akron has claimed both previous games. During the 1942-43 season, Akron won 39-36, and most recently, the Zips defeated St. Bonaventure at the 2018 Cayman Islands Classic. The Zips used four consecutive 3-pointers to pull away in the first half and defeated the Bonnies 61-49.
Senior Loren Cristian Jackson (Chicago, Ill.) was named to the Cayman Islands Classic All-Tournament Team with 49 points, 13 assists and seven rebounds. Jackson posted a tournament-high 25 points against No. 19 ranked Clemson, 15 points against Illinois State, and nine points against St. Bonaventure.
Jackson returned to Akron after leading the Zips to a 2019-20 regular season MAC Championship with a 24-7 overall record and 14-4 in league mark. Akron earned the No. 1 seed for the MAC Tournament returns one lone starter in Jackson. Jackson is a two-time first-team ALL-MAC selection and was named 2020 Mid-American Conference Player of the Year.
Akron returns 10 players and seven letterwinners from last season's championship squad, including a pair of sit-outs transfers in senior Maishe Dailey (Beachwood, Ohio) and junior Bryan Trimble, Jr. (Kansas City, Mo.) along with redshirt freshman Tre Edwards (Hamilton, Ontario, Canada). The seven letterwinners include: seniors Jackson, Camron Reece (Oakland, Calif.) and LePear Toles (Canton, Ohio), along with sophomores Ali Ali (Kendallville, Ind.), Mikal Dawson (Huntington, W.Va.), Greg Tribble (Cincinnati, Ohio), and Scott Walter (Akron, Ohio). The Zips newcomers include junior Mike Wynn (Albany, N.Y.), sophomores Jermaine Marshall (Birmingham, Ala.) and Taylor Currie (Clarkston, Mich.), and freshmen Garvin Clarke (Euclid, Ohio) and Aziz Bandaogo (Senegal, Africa).
The Zips were picked to finish third in league play and second in Mid-American Conference Tournament championship voting in the 2020-21 MAC Men's Basketball Preseason Coaches' Poll.
The Bonnies were selected fourth in the Atlantic 10 Preseason Coaches' Poll after finishing the 2019-20 campaign with a 19-12 overall record and a fifth-best A-10 mark of 11-7. St. Juniors Kyle Lofton and Osun Osunniyi were selected to the preseason All-A10 teams – Lofton earned second-team honors while Osunniyi received third-team and all-defensive team honors.
Akron and St. Bonaventure are slated to open the season on Saturday, Dec. 12 after both institutions season openers were postponed due to a pause in activities from positive COVID-19 tests. Akron is scheduled to play Cedarville and the Bonnies are booked to face the Saint Francis Red Flash. Both games are set for a 2 p.m. tipoff.
All games and times are subject to change. The full men's basketball schedule has been released on GoZips.com.
AKRON, Ohio – The University of Akron men's basketball program announced plans to host a nonconference game at Cleveland's Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse against Atlantic 10 opponent St. Bonaventure on Tuesday, Dec. 15 at 2 p.m.
In relation to current COVID-19 advisories, the game will be closed to the public and scheduled to stream live on ESPN+. Fans can also follow the action via Zips radio broadcast on 640 AM WHLO, Tunein and iHeart Radio as well as live stats on GoZips.com.
"This is a great opportunity for us to compete against a very good team in Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse," head coach John Groce said. "We are very appreciative of the special efforts of the Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse staff to make this happen."
The midweek contest marks the third meeting in series history between the Zips and the Bonnies as Akron has claimed both previous games. During the 1942-43 season, Akron won 39-36, and most recently, the Zips defeated St. Bonaventure at the 2018 Cayman Islands Classic. The Zips used four consecutive 3-pointers to pull away in the first half and defeated the Bonnies 61-49.
Senior Loren Cristian Jackson (Chicago, Ill.) was named to the Cayman Islands Classic All-Tournament Team with 49 points, 13 assists and seven rebounds. Jackson posted a tournament-high 25 points against No. 19 ranked Clemson, 15 points against Illinois State, and nine points against St. Bonaventure.
Jackson returned to Akron after leading the Zips to a 2019-20 regular season MAC Championship with a 24-7 overall record and 14-4 in league mark. Akron earned the No. 1 seed for the MAC Tournament returns one lone starter in Jackson. Jackson is a two-time first-team ALL-MAC selection and was named 2020 Mid-American Conference Player of the Year.
Akron returns 10 players and seven letterwinners from last season's championship squad, including a pair of sit-outs transfers in senior Maishe Dailey (Beachwood, Ohio) and junior Bryan Trimble, Jr. (Kansas City, Mo.) along with redshirt freshman Tre Edwards (Hamilton, Ontario, Canada). The seven letterwinners include: seniors Jackson, Camron Reece (Oakland, Calif.) and LePear Toles (Canton, Ohio), along with sophomores Ali Ali (Kendallville, Ind.), Mikal Dawson (Huntington, W.Va.), Greg Tribble (Cincinnati, Ohio), and Scott Walter (Akron, Ohio). The Zips newcomers include junior Mike Wynn (Albany, N.Y.), sophomores Jermaine Marshall (Birmingham, Ala.) and Taylor Currie (Clarkston, Mich.), and freshmen Garvin Clarke (Euclid, Ohio) and Aziz Bandaogo (Senegal, Africa).
The Zips were picked to finish third in league play and second in Mid-American Conference Tournament championship voting in the 2020-21 MAC Men's Basketball Preseason Coaches' Poll.
The Bonnies were selected fourth in the Atlantic 10 Preseason Coaches' Poll after finishing the 2019-20 campaign with a 19-12 overall record and a fifth-best A-10 mark of 11-7. St. Juniors Kyle Lofton and Osun Osunniyi were selected to the preseason All-A10 teams – Lofton earned second-team honors while Osunniyi received third-team and all-defensive team honors.
Akron and St. Bonaventure are slated to open the season on Saturday, Dec. 12 after both institutions season openers were postponed due to a pause in activities from positive COVID-19 tests. Akron is scheduled to play Cedarville and the Bonnies are booked to face the Saint Francis Red Flash. Both games are set for a 2 p.m. tipoff.
All games and times are subject to change. The full men's basketball schedule has been released on GoZips.com.
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