Big Brother pushed Ohio around long enough.
After Akron won the previous four contests between the schools, Ohio finally got the better of its rival, defeating Akron 66-50 on Saturday. With the victory, the Bobcats are now tied with Akron for second place in the Mid-American Conference East Division. Saturday marked the Zips’ second loss in a row.
“I’m just happy we beat (Akron),” redshirt senior forward Jon Smith said. “They’ve got us four times its pretty embarrassing, we didn’t need a five (in a row).”
After being trounced by Western Michigan on Wednesday, the Bobcats bounced back as three Bobcats scored double figures against a depleted Zips lineup.
A trio of major scoring threats for Akron, senior forward Nick Harney and sophomore forwards Reggie McAdams and Jake Kretzer all did not play.
Redshirt senior forward Jon Smith paced the Bobcats with a double-double, scoring 16 points and adding 12 rebounds. He finished eight of nine from the field and had his second double-double in four games.
Coach Jim Christian said he was proud of the effort, which showed from everyone who logged minutes for the Bobcats.
“We competed on the glass, right from the first play...this is the time of the year that the good teams play for each other,” Christian said. “And that’s what its all about and I was just proud of the way they competed tonight.”
The Bobcats controlled the tempo the entire contest, as Akron’s first and only lead came with 18:47 in the first half.
Ohio then seized control, taking a 14-2 lead sparked by three quick baskets by senior guard Nick Kellogg. The Zips cut Ohio’s lead to three points in the first half, but a 3-pointer from senior guard Travis Wilkins started a 16-3 run. The Zips were held to zero field goals in the last seven minutes of the first half and Ohio cruised to a 36-20 halftime lead.
The Bobcats’ defensive effort was superb, as Akron shot 27 percent from the field. Akron’s leading scorer senior forward Demetrius Treadwell finished with 13 points, however, he was flustered throughout the game and had trouble getting into a scoring rhythm.
The Zips started the second half hot,with a 6-0 run to cut Ohio’s lead to 11 points. However, the Bobcats regrouped after a three-point play by freshman forward Antonio Campbell to put Ohio ahead by 16 points.
With 7:53 remaining, Ohio went up by 20 points after a jumper from Kellogg and Ohio never faltered the rest of the contest.
Although the win helps Ohio in the long run for the MAC Championship, Christian reiterated that he cares more about how the team is playing as a unit.=
“Everybody in the MAC is looking to catch lightning in a bottle at the right time, that’s really what it is,” Christian said. “And we need to start playing well so we can feel like we can do that, when needed we can play our best basketball so especially coming off Wednesday I was proud of them.”
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