Castaneda Leads Zips Past Florida A&M, 73-66

Sunday, December 12

Akron, Ohio

2 PM

University of Akron

6-3,0-0MAC

Florida A&M

2-6,0-0SWAC

Team	1	2	F
Florida A&M	25	41	66
Akron	30	43	73

December 12 | Men's Basketball

Box Score

Castaneda Leads Zips Past Florida A&M, 73-66
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Boxscore PDF | Boxscore

AKRON, Ohio – The Akron Zips capped exam week by passing a tough test from a resilient Florida A&M team, downing the visiting Rattlers 73-66 in a rare Sunday afternoon contest at James A. Rhodes Arena.

Capping off a three-game homestand to begin the month of December, the Zips (6-3) led from start to finish and relied on an aggressive defense to claim the win. After building a big early lead, Akron fended off a determined Florida A&M side to win its fourth straight contest.

Junior guard Xavier Castaneda (Chicago, Ill.) led the Zips with 17 points and a team-high five assists, with sophomore forward Ali Ali (Kendallville, Ind.) contributing 14 points in the win and junior guard Bryan Trimble, Jr. (Kansas City, Mo.) also reaching double figures with 13. Sophomore forward Enrique Freeman (Cleveland, Ohio) paced Akron on the glass, snaring a game-best 11 rebounds to go with seven points on the afternoon.

The contest was decided in a key stretch in the second half as Akron used a 13-4 run over a span of 5:56 to turn a three-point edge into a 60-48 margin with just over five minutes remaining. Trimble (six) and Tribble (five) combined for 11 of 13 points during the run.

Early on, it looked as if Akron would pull away for a big win, but the Rattlers (2-6) hung tough on the road. A tough offensive stretch to end the first half saw Akron go the final 8:46 of the opening frame without a field goal make, but the defense was able to corral the Rattlers and allowed the hosts to maintain their lead heading into the break.

After making six 3-pointers in the first 10 minutes of the game, the Zips weren't able to convert any triples in the final 10 minutes of the opening half and maintained their lead largely at the foul line, where they outscored the visitors 8-2 in the half.

Senior guard M.J. Randolph led Florida A&M with 23 points while graduate student guard Kamron Reaves added 19 in defeat.

Akron is scheduled to travel to Dayton, Ohio for a game against Horizon League opponent Wright State on Wednesday, Dec. 15 at Nutter Center. Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m. Fans can follow the action on ESPN+ or listen to Akron Sports Radio Network on WHLO 640 AM with Dave Skoczen (PxP) and Joe Dunn (analyst). Live stats are also available on GoZips.com.