Williams Lifts Akron to 59-58 Win over Eastern Michigan

Saturday, February 8

Akron, Ohio

2 PM

University of Akron

17-6,7-3MAC

Eastern Michigan

12-11,2-8MAC

Eastern Mich.

Akron

Williams Lifts Akron to 59-58 Win over Eastern Michigan

February 08 | Men's Basketball

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AKRON, Ohio – Playing from behind all afternoon and finally returning to their home court after 11 days away, the Akron Zips dug themselves a big early hole and rallied for a stunning 59-58 win against the visiting Eastern Michigan Eagles on Saturday afternoon at James A. Rhodes Arena as senior Xeyrius Williams (Springfield, Ohio) drained a long 3-pointer with 4.2 seconds left for the shocking victory.

The last lead is the best lead as Williams finished with 10 points and eight rebounds while senior Tyler Cheese (Albany, Ga.) led Akron with 21 points, three rebounds and three assists. Juniors Loren Cristian Jackson (Chicago, Ill.) and Camron Reece (Oakland, Calif.) contributed nine points apiece and Jackson added a team-best five assists in the win.

Williams struggled all afternoon long, making just 3-of-12 from the field for seven points, but made the game's biggest shot with a hand in his face and then saw senior Channel Banks (Las Vegas, Nev.) block Eastern Michigan's layup attempt at the buzzer to snuff out the Eagles.

The win snapped a two-game losing skid for the Zips, both by a single possession, as they overcame a key 6-0 Eastern Michigan run in the closing minutes of the game in a contest played at a snail's pace all afternoon long.

Displaying a stall-tactic offense more often seen at the high school level, the Eagles (12-11, 2-8 MAC) spent much of the second half holding the ball near mid-court, content to run the clock in the hopes that their defense would foil the Zips (17-6, 7-3 MAC) enough to eke out a win.

The strategy nearly proved to be enough for a win despite a contested 3-pointer from the wing in the final minute by Cheese. However, two missed free throws by Eastern Michigan junior guard Darion Spottsville with 14.9 seconds left set the stage for Williams' heroics.

It was a game that saw Akron playing from behind all game long.

Cheese knotted the game up on Akron's opening possession of the second half with a lefty 3-pointer from the wing, then gave his team a lead for the first time since the 18:34 mark of the first half with another triple moments later.

The 33-30 edge became a hot potato the two teams swapped back and forth for most of the second half. Just past the midway point of the second half, a driving hook shot by senior Deng Riak (Melbourne, Australia) raised Akron's edge to four, 44-40 - its largest of the game to that point - but the hosts could never fully separate from the Eagles.

That Akron would have a chance to win at the end seemed unlikely for much of the game.

After opening the scoring with a fast break layup by Cheese just 1:01 into the game, the Zips weren't able to find their flow against the Eagles' familiar 2-3 zone defense. The hosts notched just two points in the first 10 minutes of the game, including a 9:17 scoring drought that allowed Eastern Michigan to inch out to a 17-2 lead.

Despite that 15-point deficit and 0-for-13 shooting from beyond the arc in the opening 20 minutes, Akron drew even at the 1:20 mark of the first half, clawing its way back into the contest one small step at a time thanks to offensive contributions from across the roster.

Cheese, who posted 40 percent of Akron's 25 first-half points, sank two free throws to square up the score at 22-all and although the Eagles edged back out to a 28-25 halftime lead, the strong finish to the opening stanza for the Zips changed the tenor of the contest.

Redshirt junior forward Ty Groce led Eastern Michigan with 15 points on the day and redshirt senior center Boubacar Toure added 14 points and 10 rebounds for the visitors.

Akron will have only two days to regroup before its next game as the MAC East-leading Bowling Green Falcons come to Rhodes Arena for a 7 p.m. contest on Feb. 11. The game can be seen on ESPN+ and heard on 1350-AM.