Akron Holds Off Game Herd Effort
Marshall closes to three late
AKRON, Ohio-The Akron men's basketball team had four players in double figures to lead a balanced attack as the Zips held off Marshall 70-63 Tuesday evening at the James A. Rhodes Arena.
The Zips improved to 8-4 overall, while Marshall dropped to 4-9.
Akron was paced by 13 points apiece from Noah Robotham and Pat Forsythe, who also notched 10 rebounds and four blocks in a double-double effort. Robotham also had four steals.
Reggie McAdams added 12 on four 3-pointers and Deji Ibitayo chipped in 11 on 4-15 shooting.
Marshall got 16 points from Austin Loop, who hit six of his 12 field goal attempts, including a 4-9 clip from 3-point range. Ryan Taylor added 15 on 5-6 shooting and 4-4 from the free throw line. Taylor played just 23 minutes after leaving the game with an apparent left ankle injury at the 13:03mark with Marshall trailing 47-39.
Aleksa Nikolic led the Herd with eight rebounds, seven assists and four steals.
Marshall jumped out to an 11-4 lead early on a 3-pointer by Justin Edmonds at the 13:23 mark but only got a Loop layup at the 9:01 mark and two Taylor free throws at the 4:46 mark in a nearly 10 minute stretch. The Zips carried a 35-24 lead into the half.
The Herd rallied several times in the second half without Taylor, keeping the deficit in single digits for the majority of the second half. Marshall got the lead down to three (58-55) on a Milan Mijovic jumper with 5:52 left and three again (66-63) on a Jay Johnson 3-pointer with 1:14 to go.
Akron got four free throws from Robotham for the game's final margin.
The Zips held a commanding 18-8 advantage on the offensive glass which translated to a 20-5 edge in second chance points. UA also outscored the Marshall bench 27-14.
The Herd will open Conference USA play on Sunday with a 3 p.m. ET/2 p.m. CT tip at Western Kentucky.
Marshall closes to three late
AKRON, Ohio-The Akron men's basketball team had four players in double figures to lead a balanced attack as the Zips held off Marshall 70-63 Tuesday evening at the James A. Rhodes Arena.
The Zips improved to 8-4 overall, while Marshall dropped to 4-9.
Akron was paced by 13 points apiece from Noah Robotham and Pat Forsythe, who also notched 10 rebounds and four blocks in a double-double effort. Robotham also had four steals.
Reggie McAdams added 12 on four 3-pointers and Deji Ibitayo chipped in 11 on 4-15 shooting.
Marshall got 16 points from Austin Loop, who hit six of his 12 field goal attempts, including a 4-9 clip from 3-point range. Ryan Taylor added 15 on 5-6 shooting and 4-4 from the free throw line. Taylor played just 23 minutes after leaving the game with an apparent left ankle injury at the 13:03mark with Marshall trailing 47-39.
Aleksa Nikolic led the Herd with eight rebounds, seven assists and four steals.
Marshall jumped out to an 11-4 lead early on a 3-pointer by Justin Edmonds at the 13:23 mark but only got a Loop layup at the 9:01 mark and two Taylor free throws at the 4:46 mark in a nearly 10 minute stretch. The Zips carried a 35-24 lead into the half.
The Herd rallied several times in the second half without Taylor, keeping the deficit in single digits for the majority of the second half. Marshall got the lead down to three (58-55) on a Milan Mijovic jumper with 5:52 left and three again (66-63) on a Jay Johnson 3-pointer with 1:14 to go.
Akron got four free throws from Robotham for the game's final margin.
The Zips held a commanding 18-8 advantage on the offensive glass which translated to a 20-5 edge in second chance points. UA also outscored the Marshall bench 27-14.
The Herd will open Conference USA play on Sunday with a 3 p.m. ET/2 p.m. CT tip at Western Kentucky.
