Akron Falls to Toledo on the Road, 91-76

Tuesday, February 2

Toledo, OH

7 PM

University of Akron

10-4,8-3MAC

Toledo

16-4,11-1MAC

Akron

Toledo

February 02 | Men's Basketball

Box Score

Akron Falls to Toledo on the Road, 91-76
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TOLEDO, Ohio – The Akron Zips six-game winning streak came to an end at Savage Arena as the league leading Toledo Rockets defeated the Zips 91-76 on Tuesday night.

Senior guard Loren Cristian Jackson (Chicago, Ill.) recorded his fifth 30-plus point performance of the season and second against Toledo this year with game-high 32 points, four assist and three rebounds. Junior guard Bryan Trimble, Jr. (Kansas City, Mo.) also reached double figures in points with 14, while senior forward Camron Reece (Oakland, Calif.) and sophomore forward Ali Ali (Kendallville, Ind.) followed with nine and eight points, respectively. Reece added eight rebounds as sophomore forward Enrique Freeman (Cleveland, Ohio) grabbed a team-high 11 rebounds to go along with four points.

The Zips (10-4, 8-3 MAC) started the game by scoring the first five points as Freeman registered the game's first bucket and Trimble followed with one of his four 3-pointers on the night. The Rockets (16-4, 11-1 MAC) responded by tying the game 7-7 and taking the lead on a pair of Spencer Littleson triples.

Toledo controlled the scoreboard for the rest of the half and led by as many as 14 points in the initial stanza fueled by 20 first-half points from JT Shumate. His unblemished shooting performance featured 6-of-6 from the floor including a 2-of-2 effort from deep and from the charity stripe.

By the seven-minute mark of the first half, the Rockets buried six 3-pointers on 11 attempts (.545) en route to a 49-35 halftime advantage. They finished the half shooting 7-of-15 from deep (.467) and 16-of-29 from the floor (.552).

The first half also showcased 20 fouls and 10 appearances to the free throw line by both teams. The Rockets cashed in on all 10 while Akron converted with six. Jackson led Akron's scoring with 12 points, scoring all of his points in the paint or from the free throw line. The Zips shot 13-of-30 from the field (.433) and 3-of-10 from downtown (.300).

Akron opened the second half on a 9-2 run and kept cutting into the home team's advantage, eventually tying the game 61-61 with 10:01 left to play in the game. The Zips outscored the Rockets 26-12 in the first 10 minutes, led by Jackson. He scored 20 second-half points and 11 of those points during that span.

Ali and Trimble contributed big shots from beyond the 3-point arc while Ali, Freeman, Reece and junior guard Michael Wynn (Albany, N.Y.) delivered points in the paint.

With 13:48 showing on the clock, Jackson stepped into a 3-pointer to keep the momentum in the Zips favor and reducing the Rocket lead to just four points, 58-54. Ali followed with a dunk and Freeman tied the game with an offensive rebound and put-back, forcing a Toledo timeout.

The Rockets followed with eight unanswered points as Toledo's Marreon Jackson hit a floater in the lane after the timeout, and Littleson buried two trifectas with 8:12 remaining in the game, 69-61. The Rockets eventually pushed the lead back to double digits and held on for the win.

Five Rockets scored in double figures led by Shumate's 25-point effort. Marreon Jackson followed with 19 points and grabbed 11 rebounds for a double-double, while Littleson (17), Keshaun Saunders (14) and Setric Millner, Jr. (10) rounded out the double-digit scoring.

Akron will be back in action on Friday, Feb. 5 as the Zips travel to crosstown rival Kent State for the second Crystal Clinic Wagon Wheel showdown of the season. The game will be televised nationally on ESPNU and tipoff is scheduled for 7 PM. Fans can follow the action on ESPNU, 640 WHLO AM or GoZips.com.