Akron Wins on the Road, Jackson Scores 31 Points

Friday, February 14

Mount Pleasant, MI

7 PM

University of Akron

19-6,9-3MAC

Central Michigan

13-11,6-5MAC

Akron

Central Mich.

Akron Wins on the Road, Jackson Scores 31 Points

February 14 | Men's Basketball

Box Score

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MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich. – The Akron Zips are now 5-1 on the road in league play as they continued their winning ways by defeating Central Michigan 80-67 on ESPNU Friday night at McGuirk Arena.

Junior Loren Cristian Jackson (Chicago, Ill.) led the Zips' scoring efforts with his third 30-plus point performance of the season. Jackson notched 31 points efficiently, shooting 11-of-16 (.688) from the floor that included a 5-of-9 (.556) showing from long distance. He was perfect from the free throw line (4-of-4), dished out three assists and posted three steals.

Akron (19-6, 9-3 Mid-American) had three additional players reach double digits in points as senior Channel Banks (Las Vegas, Nev.) collected 14 points and seniors Tyler Cheese (Albany, Ga.) and Xeyrius Williams (Springfield, Ohio) finished with 11 points each. Banks hit four triples and had a steal while Cheese secured six rebounds with a steal and Williams grabbed a team-high nine boards with two assists and a steal.

The first half featured five lead changes and eight tied scores as Central Michigan (13-11, 6-5 Mid-American) led for the initial 8:51 of the game. The lead was slim, ranging between two and four points. At the 11:48 mark, Banks buried a 3-pointer from the corner and Cheese followed with a steal that led to a breakaway layup which resulted in an old-fashioned 3-point play for a two-point, 16-14 advantage.

The game remained close as the scoreboard flip-flopped four times until Jackson followed a Williams free throw with a layin off the glass, 20-17 Zips. The home team prevented Akron from scoring on three straight possessions by cashing in on a 3-pointer from the wing which sparked a 9-2 run, placing the Chippewas ahead 28-22 with 6:04 remaining in the half.

Banks and Williams followed with triples to knot the game at 28, and the Zips outscored CMU 9-6 the rest of the way. Jackson put the Zips up by three points with his first long distance bucket of the game. On the Zips ensuing possession, Cheese scored in the paint to give Akron a 37-34 lead at the break.

In the second half, Akron came out of the locker room on fire, connecting with back-to-back 3-pointers from Jackson and Banks for a nine-point cushion. Banks and Jackson followed with another pair of triples as Akron opened the frame 4-of-5 from deep. At the 17-minute mark, Akron held a 12-point, 49-37 advantage, but it didn't last.

Over the next five minutes, Central Michigan used a 14-2 run to even the score at 51-points apiece. Akron quickly pushed the lead back to double figures with a Jackson three and an alley-oop to junior Camron Reece (Oakland, Calif.). Reece followed with another bucket in the paint and Jackson buried another three.

The Zips kept the lead and, with one-minute remaining, pushed the advantage to 10 points, 76-66, The Zips outscored the Chippewas 4-1 down the stretch as Cheese and Banks made four free throws to ice the game by 13 points.

Travon Broadway Jr. led the Chipps with 17 points and Dallas Morgan followed with 14 points. Devontae Lane and Rob Montgomery rounded out Central Michigan's double-digit scoring with 12 and 11, respectfully.

The Chippewas slightly outrebounded Akron, 37-35, and turnovers were tied at 14 apiece. The Zips shot 52.7 percent from the floor (29-of-55), 37.0 percent from deep (10-of-27) and 80.0 percent from the Charity stripe.

Akron will be on the road again in Michigan, this time in Kalamazoo to take on Western Michigan. On Tuesday, Feb. 18, The Zips will battle the Broncos at Read Fieldhouse. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. on ESPN+ which also 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.