Akron Holds Off Men's Basketball With First Half Run, 69-51

Tuesday, January 17

Mount Pleasant, Mich.

7 p.m.

Central Michigan University

7-11,2-3MAC

Akron

12-6,4-1MAC

Akron

Central Mich.

Photo by: Jack Reeber '23,M'25 - @jackreeber.raw

1/17/2023 9:40:00 PM | Men's Basketball

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Chippewas register season-lows for points (51) and field goals (16); Jesse Zarzuela finishes with second consecutive 20-point game.

By: Greg Hotchkiss

MOUNT PLEASANT, Mich.—Led by a balanced scoring attack with four players in double figures, Akron used a 9-0 first half run to take control of the game and coasted to a 69-51 win over the Central Michigan men's basketball team Tuesday evening at McGuirk Arena.

Central Michigan was held to season-lows of 51 points and 16 field goals. The Chippewas had several extended stretches where they were held without a field goal. Meanwhile, Akron converted 52 percent (13-25) of its shots in the first half, outrebounded CMU 37-32 and shot 22 free throws to CMU's 16. The host Chippewas were held to 34 percent shooting (16-47) on the evening.

Central Michigan Head Coach Tony Barbee cited his team's poor field goal shooting as a key factor in the result.

"We can't catch the ball in the post because we're not very tough," Barbee said. "I bet we missed 25 to 30 shots from within one foot of the rim. I don't know what offense to draw up to get us closer to the rim than that. We kept throwing it off the backboard. But we've won plenty of games this year shooting 30 percent from the floor. You hold the other team to 29 percent and you win."

"We need leadership from our veteran players and tonight we didn't have any of it. Our veterans can't let their lack of offense affect being a leader. That's what they did tonight."

Junior guard Jesse Zarzuela led the way for the Chippewas with a game-high 20 points on 6-14 field goals and 5-9 3-pointers. He registered his third career 20-point contest, his fifth consecutive double figure scoring game, and has now hit three or more 3-pointers in seven of his 14 games played this season. He converted four 3-pointers and scored 14 points in the first half.

Akron was led by Xavier Castaneda, who scored 13 points and dished out six assists, Sammy Hunter finished with 12 points (4-5 shooting), Trendon Hankerson added 11 points and five rebounds, and Greg Tribble contributed 10 points.

Akron grabbed a 36-26 lead into halftime when Nate Johnson swished a 3-pointer at the buzzer. Akron used a 9-0 run spanning four minutes to take a 31-22 lead with 3:32 to play in the first half. Enrique Freeman hit a free throw, Hunter converted a jumper, Castaneda contributed two free throws, Freeman hit two free throws, and Amani Lyles scored on a layup.

The first half was a close back-and-forth battle up until CMU tied the contest at 22-22 when Reggie Bass drove through the lane and found Carrington McCaskill for a tomahawk dunk. From that point on, Akron outscored CMU 14-4 over the last 7:29.

Akron extended its lead to 44-26 by scoring the first eight points of the second half. Hunter started the half off with a 3-pointer, Tribble added two free throws, and Castaneda swished a 3-pointer for an 18-point advantage with 16:46 to play.

Akron took a 54-32 advantage on a 3-pointer by Hankerson with 11:36 to play. Hankerson followed another 3-pointer with 9:30 to play and Tribble made it 59-35 on an alley-oop dunk with 9:15 to play.

The Zips led by as many as 27 points (66-39) with 4:52 to go.

With the loss, Central Michigan drops to 2-3 in the MAC and 7-11 overall, while Akron improves to 4-1 in the MAC and 12-6 overall. The Chippewas dropped to 5-3 at home.

Central Michigan is back in action when it travels to Ohio for a Saturday game. Tipoff is at 2 p.m. ET.

—CMU—