Ohio Game Stories

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Zips win in a rout against Bobcats

Akron trounces Ohio to take over second place in the MAC East

By Darnell Mayberry

Beacon Journal staff writer

ATHENS, OHIO - A game featuring two teams fighting for sole possession of second place in the Mid-American Conference East Division figured to be a little more closely contested.

A contest it never was, as the University of Akron walked into the Convocation Center and abruptly manhandled Ohio University en route to a 69-49 win.

The margin of victory was a pleasant change for the Zips after their past three games were decided by a combined seven points.

The win improved the Zips to 15-7, 9-5 and locked up a second-place slot behind East leader Miami (16-6, 11-3). The victory was Akron's eighth in the past 10 games and assured the Zips of a winning season.

``We're still unsatisfied,'' said Akron forward Romeo Travis, who finished with 11 points, six rebounds and five blocks. ``It ain't over. Second place is the first loser. We haven't done anything.''

Ohio, which suffered its first defeat at home to fall to 10-1, dropped to 13-9, 8-6 and into a third-place tie with Can't State.

The Zips forced the Bobcats into a horrid shooting night in which they were 5-of-31 in the first half (16.1 percent). It was evident that they would be in for a long night when they missed their first 10 shots and turned the ball over four times in the first six minutes.

It never got better for the Bobcats, as negative numbers poured in.

For starters, the Zips led by as many as 30 points several times. The Bobcats shot a season-low 30 percent, besting their previous mark of 37.7 percent when they played at Rhodes Arena. Their 49 points were also a season-low, and they didn't make a 3-pointer for the first time in five seasons.

``This is a hard place to win,'' said Akron coach Keith Dambrot, who wasn't comfortable with the lead. ``I'm thinking they were going to make a run at it. We have to start thinking a little more arrogantly and have even better belief in ourselves.''

Akron used the Bobcats' inefficiency to jump to a 14-0 lead with 14:08 left in the first half. The Bobcats didn't score their first basket until 13:44 on a Mychal Green layup.

Ohio only hit four more field goals, as the Zips took a 39-15 lead by halftime.

``I think we lost some energy when nothing would go in the basket,'' Ohio coach Tim O'Shea said.

``It snowballed. We just had nothing going tonight. The stat sheet from an offensive standpoint is a nightmare.''

The Bobcats went 0-for-15 from the 3-point line and 13-for-23 from the free-throw line.

Bubba Walther scored a game-high 14 points to lead four Zips in double figures. Rick McFadden scored 12, and Darryl Peterson, who didn't play against Toledo, added 11.

Another positive sign for the Zips was their ability to close out the game, unlike past games when they built large leads only to watch them dwindle.

``That was good,'' Akron Dambrot said.

``I thought we maintained it pretty well.''

Akron will play host to Niagara on Saturday before returning to MAC play against Miami next Wednesday.

Red-hot Zips' youth outclasses Bobcats' youth

Thursday, February 17, 2005

Elton Alexander

Plain Dealer Reporter

Athens, Ohio- Ohio University showed its men's college basketball youth Wednesday night and it wasn't pretty.

But that was of no concern to the University of Akron Zips, who also showed their youth and cruised to a 69-49 victory over the Bobcats and into sole possession of second place in the MAC East Division race.

If the rest of the league has been overlooking the Zips, it had better take notice now. It's the Zips' second win in three days and the eighth win in their last 10 games.