Akron Wins Third Straight Game in Six Days

Thursday, January 21

Akron, Ohio

6 PM

University of Akron

7-3,5-2MAC

Central Michigan

6-9,2-6MAC

Central Mich.

Akron

January 21 | Men's Basketball

Box Score

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Postgame Press Conference

Akron Wins Third Straight Game in Six Days

AKRON, Ohio – Six days. Three games. Three wins. The Akron Zips once again mastered the math of playing well despite having very little time to rest, powering past the visiting Central Michigan Chippewas for a 81-67 win at James A. Rhodes Arena on Thursday night.

Just days after downing the top two teams in the Mid-American Conference standings, the Zips (7-3, 5-2 MAC) used their lethal long-range shooting and a second-half surge to extend their winning streak to three games.

Junior guard Bryan Trimble, Jr. (Kansas City, Mo.) led the Zips with a career-high 25 points and knocked down a career-best seven shots from behind the arc on 14 attempts. Senior guard Loren Cristian Jackson (Chicago, Ill.) contributed a double-double with 13 points and 10 assists in the win and sophomore forward Enrique Freeman (Cleveland, Ohio) was a major post presence with a double-double of his own thanks to 10 points, 11 rebounds and four blocked shots. Senior forward Maishe Dailey (Beachwood, Ohio) rounded out Akron's double-digit scoring with 11 points.

With Trimble leading the way, the Zips downed 12 3-pointers and outscored the Chippewas 36-3 from long range.

Akron seized control of the game in a stretch spanning the closing minutes of the first half and the beginning of the second half, outscoring the visiting Chippewas 18-6 in a 5:57 stretch that saw Freeman tally six points, with Trimble and sophomore forward Ali Ali (Kendallville, Ind.) recording five each.

Despite numerous Central Michigan runs over the remainder of the half, the Zips never saw their lead dip below six and made the decisive stand with just over four minutes left when Jackson took charges on two different possessions and on the other end, delivered pinpoint assists on a 3-pointer by Trimble and a layup by senior forward Camron Reece (Oakland, Calif.) to elevate Akron to a 73-60 edge.

It was a contrast of styles in the opening half as Akron made its mark from beyond the arc while the Chippewas (6-9, 2-6 MAC) were determined to get to the rim on a regular basis. Those differing approaches showed on the stat sheet, where the Zips made 8-of-18 3-point attempts and assisted on nine of their 15 successful field goals before the break.

Conversely, Central Michigan made just 1-of-5 attempts from long range and notched only two assists on 14 made shots in the half. Trimble led the Akron long-range brigade with four made triples and 14 points in the opening 20 minutes as part of a back-and-forth contest that saw five ties and six lead changes before a 7-0 run to close the half gave the Zips their largest lead to that point, 44-38, at intermission.

Junior guard Meikkel Murray led Central Michigan with 23 points and senior guard Travon Broadway, Jr. added 17 in defeat.

Akron continues its rapid-fire schedule with its fourth game in eight days as it travels to Kalamazoo, Mich. on Saturday, Jan. 23 to take on the Western Michigan Broncos at 5 p.m. The game can be seen on ESPN3/+ and heard on WHLO 640-AM.