March 4, 2008

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ATHENS, Ohio-The Akron men's basketball squad shot a torrid 60.4 percent Tuesday to snap Ohio's 12-game home winning streak in an 80-77 Zip victory in the Convocation Center. Akron improved to 21-8 overall and 11-4 in the Mid-American Conference, while Ohio dipped to 18-11 and 8-7 in the league.

The Zips were led by 19 points apiece from Jeremiah Wood and Cedrick Middleton. Chris McKnight (13) and Nick Dials (11) also posted double-digits, while Nate Linhart had a team-high five rebounds. Dials, the league's leader in assist-to-turnover ratio, had six assists, while Wood had five to go with an 8-8 shooting effort from the floor.

The Bobcats were led by 23 points from senior forward Leon Williams ( Baltimore, Md. ) who hit six of eight shots from the floor and 11 of 15 from the free throw line. Senior guard Bubba Walther ( Cincinnati, Ohio) led the Bobcat bench brigade with 22 points and four assists, while junior forward Jerome Tillman ( Beavercreek, Ohio ) had 18 points and a team-high nine rebounds. Junior guard Michael Allen ( Detroit, Mich. ) had five assists.

Ohio fell despite holding a 33-17 rebounding edge and 34-16 margin in free throw attempts (26 makes compared to Akron 's 12).

A combined 42 fouls ( Akron 23, Ohio 19) were called in the game and clearly had an effect on Williams, a candidate for MAC Player of the Year, who picked up his fourth with 12 minutes remaining.

A number of Akron 's points came were set up effectively as 21 of the Zips' 29 field goals came via assists. The Bobcats did, however, have success elsewhere on the floor as they held a 12-0 advantage on second chance points and a 29-10 edge on bench points.

Ohio battled Akron early as the Zips took their first lead (15-13) on a 3-pointer by Middleton six minutes, 52 seconds into the contest. After a Williams layup, Akron wrested the lead for good on a dunk by Linhart with 10:48 remaining in the first half. The Zips kept the Bobcats at bay the rest of the half and took a six-point lead (37-31) into the locker room.

Try as they might, the Bobcats simply couldn't thwart the hot-shooting Zips as Akron claimed its largest lead of 11 points (51-40) on a layup by Quade Milum at the 13:50 mark. However, Ohio came right back with an 11-2 run over the next three minutes, 15 seconds to pull to within two (53-51) on a 3-pointer by Walther at the 10:35 mark. After that, Ohio could only get as close as three as Akron made all four free throws over the final minute, 35 seconds.

The Bobcats are now embroiled in a three-way tie for fourth with Miami (14-14 overall, 8-7 MAC) and Central Michigan (13-15 overall, 8-7 MAC). The top four teams receive a bye in next week's MAC Tournament in Cleveland, Ohio . Ohio split two meetings with the RedHawks and defeated the Chippewas 62-47 on Jan. 29 in the Convo.

Ohio will celebrate its Senior Day Sunday at 2 p.m. against Buffalo (10-18 overall, 3-12 MAC) in the Convo. One of Ohio 's two MAC road wins came against those same Bulls in a 68-59 win on Jan. 23.