Akron Takes No. 17 Ohio State to Final Buzzer in Season Debut

Tuesday, November 9

Columbus, OH

6 PM

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Akron Takes No. 17 Ohio State to Final Buzzer in Season Debut

November 09 | Men's Basketball

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Akron Takes No. 17 Ohio State to Final Buzzer in Season Debut
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Columbus, Ohio – The Akron Zips battled the No. 17 ranked Ohio State Buckeyes to the final buzzer on opening night of the 2021-22 college basketball season on Tuesday as the Buckeyes scored with :00.3 seconds left on the clock for a 67-66 win on Tuesday night at Value City Arena.

Sophomore Ali Ali (Kendallville, Ind.) led the Zips' offensive attack with 17 points on 6-of-11 shooting from the floor, including a go-ahead 4-point play when the Zips were trailing 65-62. With six seconds left in the game, Ali buried 3-pointer from the left wing while being fouled and lifted the Zips to a 66-65 advantage with the made free throw. Ali scored 15 points in the second half as Ohio State advanced the ball to half court and called a timeout with three seconds left to play. On the ensuing possession Zed Key buried the game winner in the paint. Ali finished 2-of-4 from beyond the 3-point arc with a perfect 3-of-3 performance from the charity stripe.

Akron erased the eight-point halftime deficit within the first two minutes of the final frame as sophomore Enrique Freeman (Cleveland, Ohio) opened the half with a layin and junior Xavier Castaneda (Chicago, Ill.) buried back-to-back trifectas to even the score 36-all. Castaneda finished the game with 11 points on 4-of-8 shooting from the floor, including a 3-of-7 effort from deep, while Freeman paced the Zips with nine rebounds and added eight points. Graduate transfer K.J. Walton (Indianapolis, Ind.) recorded a second-best 16 points for Akron.

The Zips 'defense forced 11 Ohio State turnovers and scored 20 points as a result. Akron limited the Buckeyes to shooting just 36.7 percent (11-of-30) from the floor and 12.5 percent (1-of-8) from deep in the second half, despite the 50-percent first-half effort by OSU (15-of-30 and 3-of-6).

E.J. Liddell recorded a double-double with 25 points and 11 rebounds to lead the Buckeyes, while Key added 14 points. Ohio State edged the Zips on the glass 38-34 and scored 40 points in the paint.

UP NEXT
Akron will host Point Park for its 2021-22 home opener at James A. Rhodes Arena on Saturday, Nov. 13 at 7 p.m. Fans can follow the action via live stats on GoZips.com or by Akron Sports Radio network on WHLO 640 AM.