Akron’s Comeback Against Ohio Falls Short

Tuesday, January 4

Akron, Ohio

6 PM

University of Akron

8-4,1-1MAC

Ohio

11-2,2-0MAC

Ohio

Akron

January 04 | Men's Basketball

Box Score

Akron's Comeback Against Ohio Falls Short
Follow Akron Basketball on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram | Follow Coach Groce on Twitter

Box Score PDF | Box Score | Postgame Comments

AKRON, Ohio – Playing shorthanded on just two days' rest, the Akron Zips rallied an early deficit to lead the game late, but fell 69-63 to the visiting Ohio Bobcats in a Tuesday evening Mid-American Conference contest at James A. Rhodes Arena on CBS Sports Network.

Sophomore forward Ali Ali (Kendallville, Ind.) led Akron (8-4, 1-1 MAC) in scoring for the second straight game, tallying 22 points and a team-best four assists. Sophomore forward Mikal Dawson (Huntington, W.Va.) followed with 14 points for the Zips, including a team-high four 3-pointers, while junior guard Xavier Castaneda (Chicago, Ill.) also hit double figures with 13 points.

After trailing by as many as 14 points midway through the second half, the Zips battled all the way back to tie the game at 60-all on an Ali 3-pointer with 4:41 remaining. Moments later, a free throw by sophomore forward Enrique Freeman (Cleveland, Ohio) gave Akron its first lead of the game, 61-60.

The charity toss capped a 15-2 run over 6:09, with Ali notching eight of his team's points during the surge. A focused Akron defense limited Ohio to 1-of-6 shooting during the run and forced three turnovers during the same stint.

The two teams traded baskets the rest of the way, with the decisive stretch coming when the Bobcats hit a go-ahead layup with 1:48 left.

Missed 3-pointers on Akron's next two offensive possessions and another Ohio layup with 24 seconds remaining staked the Bobcats (11-2, 2-0 MAC) to a 67-63 edge they did not relinquish.

It was a contest that saw the two rivals nearly even in rebounds (34-33 in favor of Ohio), turnovers (10 each), free throw makes (nine each) and 3-pointers made (10-8 in favor of Akron).

Sophomore guard Mark Sears led Ohio with 24 points and redshirt senior forward Jason Carter posted 19 in the win.

Akron will travel for its first conference road game of the season on Saturday when it heads to Oxford to take on the Miami RedHawks at Millett Hall at 2 p.m. Fans can also follow the action live on ESPN3, Akron Sports Radio Network WHLO 640 AM with Dave Skoczen (PxP) and Joe Dunn (analyst) or by live stats on GoZips.com.