ATHENS, Ohio (Sports Network) ? Brandon Hunter scored 30 points and pulled down 26 rebounds in 53 minutes of action to lead the Ohio men?s basketball team to a 112-104 victory over the Akron Zips in four overtimes of a Wednesday night Mid-American Conference game at the Convocation Center.

Delvar Barrett posted a career-high 21 points and 11 rebounds for Ohio (4-6, 1-1 MAC), which remained undefeated in three games at home this season. Steve Esterkamp added 17 points and eight rebounds while Sonny Johnson contributed 16 points off the bench in the win.

Derrick Tarver poured in 41 points on 14-of-24 shooting from the floor for Akron (6-5, 1-1), which had its winning streak halted at three games. Johnny Hollingsworth chipped in 24 points for the Zips.

Akron knocked down 10-of-11 free throw attempts in the first half and held a 34-31 lead at intermission.

Ohio was able to knot the score at 69-69 at the end of regulation thanks to 50 percent shooting from the floor in the second half.

Each team scored nine points in the first overtime, 11 points in the second and nine points again in the third extra session to force a fourth five-minute stanza. Ohio records do not indicate a game ever reaching three overtimes.

In the fourth overtime, Ohio outscored Akron 14-6 to even its league record. Backup point guard Zach Kiekow scored six of his eight points in the period for the Bobcats.

Ohio ? with the nation?s top rebounder in Hunter ? held a 61-40 rebounding advantage in the contest, including a 24-10 edge on the offensive boards.

The Bobcats next travel to Central Michigan for a 3 p.m. game on Saturday before returning home to face Northern Illinois at 7 p.m. on Jan. 15.

For ticket information, please contact the Ohio Athletics Ticket Office at 740-593-1300 or 1-800-575-CATS.

Postgame quotes from Ohio head coach Tim O?Shea:

?I can go back to CYO basketball, junior high basketball, college and high school, I have never been part of a four-overtime game.

(on Zach Kiekow and James Bridgewater stepping up in the fourth overtime period) The thing I?ve preached after every game is that we?re going to need everybody in some game. Sometimes that may sound hollow to guys. For guys like Zach ? who hadn?t played at all in three games ? and Bridge ? who I don?t think has played at all in three or four games ? to step up like that in overtime was tremendous. I mentioned before that game how Zach had been practicing a lot harder and I think had really gotten a lot more competitive about trying to get some minutes back. He showed that he?s a tough kid. To be able to come off the bench like that, hit shots, drive and play with that kind of confidence in overtime is remarkable and I give the kid a lot of credit.

(on Brandon Hunter?s 30-point, 26-rebound performance) If he makes his free throws, what is that? 40 and 30? and he has a Wilt Chamberlain night. But he?d be like the Big Wilt the Stilt; he didn?t make his free throws tonight. But other than that, he was a monster on the boards, he threw some great passes and? 53 minutes! And then Steve Esterkamp played 57 minutes? just a remarkable, gutty performance. I thought Delvar Barrett was phenomenal in his minutes out there. I hope he can go against Central (Michigan on Saturday). He got banged up pretty good. You saw why we recruited him. He?s just got a great touch making all those free throws in the clutch. If you?re a Bobcat fan, you have to be very proud of your team tonight.

(on Akron?s Derrick Tarver and Johnny Hollingsworth) They are tremendous players. It?s a totally different Akron team. Those two guys averaged 40 points a game at junior college. They are the sleeping giant in this conference right now because those guys came in. Coaches knew about how good they were but I think a lot of people basically follow recruiting in terms of who comes out of high school. But those are two of the best junior college players in the country they were able to add to their team. Akron is going to be a team to be reckoned with this year in the MAC for sure.

(on overcoming free-throw shooting problems) Fortunately for us, Delvar was able to make some incredibly pressurized free throws and I give him a lot of credit for that. Obviously Brandon, if he can just get the free throws with some consistency, it would make a big difference because teams are just going to foul him and make him shoot free throws. I know he works his butt off at it. It just hasn?t been going that well for him at the free-throw line. But the guy had 26 rebounds and 30 points, another monster game for Brandon Hunter.

(on resting the team?s tired legs) We?ll just shoot tomorrow. We?ll give our legs some rest. Thursday and Friday we?ll go light. That?s what we?ve been doing now, just work a lot on our shooting ? believe it or not, even though it didn?t show up on the free-throw line ? and get ready to go on Saturday. I certainly hope Delvar is ready to go. With Chris Kaman there, we need Big Del.

(on everyone contributing to the win being satisfying in the locker room) It really is. It?s great to be able to go in the locker room and say something to Zach Kiekow about his play and James Bridgewater because they?ve been practicing really hard. It?s oftentimes hard in a 40-minute game to play more than eight guys, maybe nine. Tonight was really a remarkable game. I know The Convo has had many great moments in its life here but I think a four-overtime game will stand out even to the old-timers here.

If you?re an Ohio season-ticket holder, I think your package has been more than paid for between the first three games here. They all went down to the wire and they?ve been exciting games.?