Freeman, Castaneda, Ali Lead Zips, Akron Holds on for Win at Central Michigan

Tuesday, January 25

7:00 PM

University of Akron

13-5,6-2MAC

Central Michigan

2-13,1-3MAC

Akron

Central Mich.

Freeman, Castaneda, Ali Lead Zips, Akron Holds on for Win at Central Michigan

January 25 | Men's Basketball

Box Score

Freeman, Castaneda, Ali Lead Zips, Akron Holds on for Win at Central Michigan
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Mount Pleasant, Mich. – The Akron Zips held on to a narrow 60-56 win on the road at Central Michigan as sophomore Enrique Freeman (Cleveland, Ohio) and junior Xavier Castaneda (Chicago, Ill.) paced Akron with 16 points each and sophomore Ali Ali (Kendallville, Ind.) added 15 at McGuirk Arena on Tuesday.

Freeman collected his ninth double-double of the season by adding a game-high 11 rebounds, but the Chippewas controlled the boards 36-30, including 16 offensive rebounds that the Zips limited to only 12 second chance points.

It was a slow start for both teams as only seven total points were scored (4-3) until the 11:51 mark when the Chippewas buried a corner 3-pointer for a 7-3 advantage. The Zips quickly responded with a sophomore Greg Tribble (Huntington, W.Va.) layup, ending Akron's 1-of-11 start and 0-5 showing from long distance.

Akron made the next 9-of-12 field goals, including 2-of-2 from deep and outscoring the home team 22-13 for a 27-20 advantage by the 2:54 mark. The Zips maintained the seven-point advantage into the break, 31-24 and finished the half shooting 46.2 percent from the field (12-of-26).

The Zips finished the first half with an 18-12 advantage in the paint and continued the trend in the second half, scoring their first six points in the painted area before junior Bryan Trimble, Jr. (Kansas City, Mo.) buried a trifecta to make it 40-29 by the 16-minute mark.

CMU cut into Akron's lead with a 13-4 run, but the Zips continued to control the scoreboard. The Chippewas pulled within one point 49-48 and had an opportunity to take the lead, and Akron forced a shot clock violation with stifling defense. Akron continued to display tough defense down the stretch never relinquished the lead in the final 20 minutes.

A timely 3-pointer and a pair of free throws from Castaneda placed Akron ahead 58-52, and with 17.2 seconds left in the game, Ali buried the final two bonus buckets to secure the win.

Cameron Healy led the Chipps with 18 points and Ralph Bissainthe added 11 points in defeat.

UP NEXT
Akron travels to Toledo for a CBS Sports Network game on Friday, Jan. 28 at 7 p.m. Fans can also follow the action on Akron Sports Radio Network on WHLO 640 AM with Dave Skoczen (PxP) and Joe Dunn (analyst) or live stats on GoZips.com.