Central Michigan University Athletics
Tuesday, January 6
Akron, Ohio/James A. Rhodes Arena
7:00 PM
Central Michigan University
4-12,0-4MAC
69
at
82
Akron
11-4,2-1MAC
1
2
F
Central Mich.
30
39
69
Akron
43
39
82
Team Stats
CMU
UA
FG%
.447
.569
3FG%
.294
.400
FT%
.815
.667
RB
20
34
TO
17
19
STL
10
12
Game Leaders
Pts
20
FGM
8
3FGM
4
FTM
0
Pts
17
FGM
4
3FGM
1
FTM
8
Pts
11
FGM
2
3FGM
0
FTM
7
Pts
6
FGM
2
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's BasketballG
/ Men's BasketballC
/ Men's Basketball
Photo by: Madison Davidson '25 - @_mld.jpeg
Men's Basketball Falls at Akron 82-69
1/6/2026 10:12:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Tamario Adley leads the Chippewas with 20 points and Phat Phat Brooks adds 17.
AKRON, Ohio—Tavari Johnson scored 22 points and dished out 10 assists and Shammah Scott scored 19 points to lead four double figure scorers as Akron won an 82-69 men's basketball victory over Central Michigan Tuesday evening at James A. Rhodes Arena. Central Michigan is back in action at home when it hosts Kent State on Saturday at 3 p.m.
Akron outrebounded Central Michigan 34-20 and shot 56.9 percent from the floor (33-58). Central Michigan won the turnover battle and played hard, cutting the Zips' lead to 10 points late in the game, but it was not enough.
For the Zips, Johnson hit 9-12 shots and 4-7 3-pointers. Scott hit 7-9 shots and 4-4 3-pointers for his 19 points. The Zips also received 12 points from Amani Lyles and 10 points from Evan Mahaffey.
Central Michigan played Akron even in the second half, 39-39. The Chippewas shot 54.5 percent in the second half (12-22).
The Chippewas' guard duo of Tamario Adley (20 points) and Phat Phat Brooks (17 points) combined for 37 of their 69 points. Adley hit three 3-pointers in a two-minute second half span, led the Chippewas with six rebounds, and finished 4-7 from 3-point range in producing his second 20-point game of the year. Brooks hit a career-high 8-12 free throws, dished out a team-high three assists in 27 minutes. Center Nathan Claerbaut notched his 13th double figure scoring game in 16 contests with 11 points.
"I thought we fought hard tonight," Central Michigan head coach Andy Bronkema said. "We just have to make more plays. There were plays to be made and we made quite a few of them, but here we are against the defending champions on the road. It was the rebounding tonight. We've got to be better. The next rebound has to be theirs. You can drill it and show them on film. Some of it is a knack and skill, but it's a lot of heart. We need to keep the rebound margin closer than 14. You're not going to win a game like that. It's one of the most important things in basketball."
"Outside of that, we know what the gap is. We were on the road against the league's defending champions. We know where we're at, we know where we're going to go. We learned a lot today."
Akron took control of the game midway through the first half and entered halftime with a 43-30 lead. In the first half, Akron was on fire as it converted 63.3 percent (19-30) of its field goals and outrebounded CMU 19-9. Though the Chippewas were a perfect 11-11 from the free throw line but hit just 1-10 3-pointers.
The Zips took their largest lead of the game at 14 points when Scott registered a 3-point play on a layup with 2:10 to play in the first half. Akron took control of the game with a 10-0 run when Johnson scored on a driving layup, Scott hit a 3-pointer, Eric Mahaffey scored on a dunk, and Scott finished off the run with a 3-pointer for a 34-22 lead with 5:33 to play.
Central Michigan battled in the second half and opened with three 3-pointers by Adley.
Akron eventually led by 18 points, 67-49 on a Johnson 3-pointer with 8:24 to play.
In the last few minutes, Central Michigan used an 8-0 run to cut Akron's lead down to 10 points at 77-67, but that was as close as the Chippewas came.
"We want to win," Bronkema said. "We're going to do everything we know how the right way. We're going to close the gap, we're going to do everything we know how for as long as we possibly we can. Right now, it's not wins, but we're not going to let that wear us down. When you watch our team play, you couldn't not watch our team play tonight and say we're not getting after it. We're getting after it. The players are giving their all and they're representing the school well. We are getting better every day."
The loss drops Central Michigan to 4-12 overall and 0-4 in the MAC, while Akron improves to 11-4 overall and 2-1 in MAC play.
Akron outrebounded Central Michigan 34-20 and shot 56.9 percent from the floor (33-58). Central Michigan won the turnover battle and played hard, cutting the Zips' lead to 10 points late in the game, but it was not enough.
For the Zips, Johnson hit 9-12 shots and 4-7 3-pointers. Scott hit 7-9 shots and 4-4 3-pointers for his 19 points. The Zips also received 12 points from Amani Lyles and 10 points from Evan Mahaffey.
Central Michigan played Akron even in the second half, 39-39. The Chippewas shot 54.5 percent in the second half (12-22).
The Chippewas' guard duo of Tamario Adley (20 points) and Phat Phat Brooks (17 points) combined for 37 of their 69 points. Adley hit three 3-pointers in a two-minute second half span, led the Chippewas with six rebounds, and finished 4-7 from 3-point range in producing his second 20-point game of the year. Brooks hit a career-high 8-12 free throws, dished out a team-high three assists in 27 minutes. Center Nathan Claerbaut notched his 13th double figure scoring game in 16 contests with 11 points.
"I thought we fought hard tonight," Central Michigan head coach Andy Bronkema said. "We just have to make more plays. There were plays to be made and we made quite a few of them, but here we are against the defending champions on the road. It was the rebounding tonight. We've got to be better. The next rebound has to be theirs. You can drill it and show them on film. Some of it is a knack and skill, but it's a lot of heart. We need to keep the rebound margin closer than 14. You're not going to win a game like that. It's one of the most important things in basketball."
"Outside of that, we know what the gap is. We were on the road against the league's defending champions. We know where we're at, we know where we're going to go. We learned a lot today."
Akron took control of the game midway through the first half and entered halftime with a 43-30 lead. In the first half, Akron was on fire as it converted 63.3 percent (19-30) of its field goals and outrebounded CMU 19-9. Though the Chippewas were a perfect 11-11 from the free throw line but hit just 1-10 3-pointers.
The Zips took their largest lead of the game at 14 points when Scott registered a 3-point play on a layup with 2:10 to play in the first half. Akron took control of the game with a 10-0 run when Johnson scored on a driving layup, Scott hit a 3-pointer, Eric Mahaffey scored on a dunk, and Scott finished off the run with a 3-pointer for a 34-22 lead with 5:33 to play.
Central Michigan battled in the second half and opened with three 3-pointers by Adley.
Akron eventually led by 18 points, 67-49 on a Johnson 3-pointer with 8:24 to play.
In the last few minutes, Central Michigan used an 8-0 run to cut Akron's lead down to 10 points at 77-67, but that was as close as the Chippewas came.
"We want to win," Bronkema said. "We're going to do everything we know how the right way. We're going to close the gap, we're going to do everything we know how for as long as we possibly we can. Right now, it's not wins, but we're not going to let that wear us down. When you watch our team play, you couldn't not watch our team play tonight and say we're not getting after it. We're getting after it. The players are giving their all and they're representing the school well. We are getting better every day."
The loss drops Central Michigan to 4-12 overall and 0-4 in the MAC, while Akron improves to 11-4 overall and 2-1 in MAC play.
—CMU—
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