EMU Hoops Unable To Stop Streaking Akron, 60-52

YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) – The Eastern Michigan University men's basketball team could not end the nation's current longest winning streak, as the Eagles fell to the University of Akron, 70-62, Wednesday night, Feb. 13, at the Convocation Center.

Akron (20-4, 11-0 MAC) remained unbeaten in Mid-American Conference play and extended its win streak to 16 games. With the loss, EMU drops to 11-13 and 4-6 in the MAC.

Three Eagles eclipsed double digits in scoring as Glenn Bryant (Detroit, Mich. – Oak Hill Academy) led the way with 11, while J.R. Sims (Fort Wayne, Ind. – Snider) and Anthony Strickland (Ypsilanti, Mich. – D.H. Robichaud) each tallied 10 points off of the bench. Eastern's bench outscored the Akron bench, 27-11, but the Green and White only shot 19-of-51 from the field for a 37.3 shooting percentage. The Zips made over half of their shots, going 25-of-47 for a 53.2 percent clip, including 9-of-23 from three point land.

The Zips ended the contest with four starters in double figures as Brian Walsh led this team with 16 points. Nick Harney added 14 and Zeke Marshall scored a dozen points all coming in the second half. Forward Demetrius Treadwell added 11 on 5-of-7 shooting.

Both teams made many trips to the charity stripe with Eastern going 18-of-23 from the line, including a perfect 8-of-8 from Stickland, while Akron made 11-of-17 attempts. The Eagles were able to convert 20 Akron turnovers into 21 points. The Zips controlled the boards on the night, 34-26.

The Eagles got on the board first with a Jalen Ross (Greensboro, N.C. – Greensboro Day) layup. However, Akron responded on the next possession with a three-pointer from Alex Abreu. Two easy buckets down low by the Zips on their next two trips down the floor forced EMU Head Coach Rob Murphy to take a timeout with his team trailing,7-2, three minutes into the game.

A Daylen Harrison (Akron, Ohio – St. Vincent St. Mary) free throw ended the 9-0 Akron run. After missing the second attempt, Harrison got a chance for redemption and knocked down a jumper from beyond the arc to make it 9-6 in favor of UA with 14:25 remaining in the opening half.

Through the first 10 minutes of the first half, both teams attempted 13 shots each, with EMU making three and Akron sinking seven. Three of Akron's seven made-baskets came from three-point land as the Zips held a 17-11 advantage. A pair of conversions from the charity stripe along with a layup, all from Strickland cut the lead to two. Following an Akron layup, Bryant nailed a three, cutting the deficit to one, 19-18, with 7:31 to go in the first half.

With EMU trailing by six, Bryant turned defense into offense with a block on an Akron fastbreak before Strickland found him on the other end for a layup and the foul. The Detroit, Mich. native completed the old-fashioned three-point play to cut the difference in half, 28-25, with 2:36 left until halftime. The teams would make one-of-two from the line, giving the Zips a 29-26 lead at the break.

The Eagles only mustered 7-of-23 shooting from the floor in the first half for a 30.4 field goal percentage. In contrast, the Zips made half of their shots, going 12-24 including 4-of-9 from long range. The Green and White made up its poor shooting with success from the foul line, draining 9-of-11 from the stripe as Akron only went to the line twice, making one.

Another big reason for the Eagles only trailing by three at the half was due to its strong defensive effort on Akron's 7-footer Marshall. Leading the Zips in scoring averaging 12.5 points per game, Marshall was held to a scoreless first half by the stingy EMU 2-3 zone.

Harrison tied the game up with a three to start the game's final 20 minutes, but Akron answered with a three of its own to bring the margin back to three. Marshall finally scored his first points of the game with a baby hook shot from the block. After a Da'Shonte Riley (Detroit, Mich. – Detroit Country Day) dunk, Marshall made one-of-two free throws along with a Harney jumper to give Akron a 37-31 lead. Following two more free throws from the Zips, Eastern made a run, scoring eight straight points to tie the game up at 39 with 10:14 left.

With the game tied at 45 apiece, UA produced a 7-0 of its own. Ross responded with a three to cut the margin to four, 52-48, with 4:55 left as Coach Murphy asked for a timeout. Forcing an Akron turnover out of the timeout, Eastern sped down the court, finding Strickland who couldn't convert a layup due to a foul. The Ypsilanti, Mich. native sank both free throws to make it a two point game. Nonetheless, the Zips hit back-to-back threes to increase their lead to eight, 58-50, at the 3:24 mark in the second half.

Although the Eagles would make two from the line on the next possession, they would be unable to get any closer as Akron remained undefeated in conference play with a 70-62 victory.

Eastern continues its trek through MAC play Saturday, Feb. 16, when it travels to Muncie, Ind. to take on Ball State University. The Eagles dropped a 60-58 decision to the Cardinals earlier this season, Jan. 9, and look to return the favor. Tip is scheduled for 2 p.m. at John E. Worthen Arena.

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Team Stats

Glenn Bryant

J.R. Sims

Anthony Strickland

Jalen Ross

Eastern Michigan Athletics