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THE BASICS
Score: Akron 91, Ohio 76
Location: James A. Rhodes Arena -- Akron, Ohio
The Short Story: Despite a game-high 25-point, seven-assist effort by redshirt sophomore guard Jaaron Simmons (Dayton, Ohio), the Ohio men's basketball team (19-10, 10-7 MAC) suffered a 91-76 setback to Mid-American Conference East Division rival Akron (23-7, 12-5 MAC) on Tuesday (March 1) at James A. Rhodes Arena in Akron, Ohio.

The Zips clinched the 2016 MAC regular season championship and the No. 1 seed in the upcoming league tournament with the victory.

OHIO STARTERS: #0 Treg Setty, #2 Jaaron Simmons, #13 Kenny Kaminski, #33 Antonio Campbell, #35 Jordan Dartis

AKRON STARTERS: #2 Kwan Cheatham, Jr., #11 Aaron Jackson, #14 Noah Robotham, #21 Reggie McAdams, #55 Antino Jackson

HOW IT HAPPENED
• The Zips connected 20 of their 43 three-point field goal attempts -- including 11 in the first half. Akron outrebounded Ohio, 47-28. The Zips led the way in both bench points (27-3) and second-chance points (19-7).
• Simmons went 10-of-16 from the field. He also grabbed two rebounds in 40 minutes.
• Redshirt junior forward Kenny Kaminski (Medina, Ohio) shot 5-of-12 from the field to finish with 13 points. He also logged two rebounds and a block in 31 minutes.
• Freshman guard Jordan Dartis (Newark, Ohio) finished 4-of-5 from the field -- including 2-of-3 from beyond the arc -- to log 13 points. He also compiled two rebounds and two steals in 37 minutes.
• Redshirt senior forward Treg Setty (Maysville, Ky.) notched 13 points, six rebounds, a block and a steal in 31 minutes.
• Junior forward Antonio Campbell (Cincinnati, Ohio) grabbed a team-high 11 rebounds to go along with nine points, three blocks and a steal in 39 minutes.
• Senior wing Reggie McAdams went 7-of-14 from beyond the arc to total 21 points for Akron. He also contributed two steals, a rebound and a block in 26 minutes.
• Junior forward Kwan Cheatham, Jr., notched 21 points for the Zips off of 8-of-17 shooting -- including a 5-of-12 effort from three-point land. He achieved a double-double with a game-high 12 points and added a block in 25 minutes.
• Sophomore guard Antino Jackson added 12 points, five rebounds, four assists and two steals over 26 minutes for the Zips.
• Senior wing Jake Kretzer hit three treys off of the bench to total 11 points for Akron in addition to grabbing six rebounds in 25 minutes.
• Sophomore guard Noah Robotham went 4-of-6 from the field -- including 2-of-3 from long distance -- to log 10 points. He also pitched in five rebounds and three assists in 33 minutes for the Zips.
• Akron came out of the gate white hot from three-point range, sinking nine treys in the first 10 minutes of the contest to build a 19-point lead at 32-13 with just over nine minutes to go in the opening half. McAdams accounted for six of the triples.
• The Bobcats climbed back into the contest, though, using an 18-1 run over the ensuing six minutes to make it a two-point game at 33-31 with 3:19 to play in the first half. The comeback was sparked by two layups and a trey by Setty, a dunk and a layup by Campbell, a layup and a jumper by Simmons and a conventional three-point play by Dartis.
• Ohio brought the Akron advantage back down to two three more times in the final three minutes of the half, but Robotham sent the Zips into halftime with a five-point lead after knocking down a three in the final seconds of the opening half.
• Kaminski sank a three for the first points of the second half, but the Zips responded with a 12-4 run to go back up by double digits -- thanks in large part to threes by Cheatham, Jr., and McAdams.
• A three by Simmons and a pair of free throws by Dartis cut Akron's lead back down to nine at 60-51 with just over 12 minutes left, but a three by Kretzer with 11:47 to go put the Zips back up by double digits for good.

BEYOND THE BOX SCORE
• Ohio dropped back to the No. 3 spot in the overall MAC standings with the loss. The Bobcats can clinch at least a top-four seed and a bye to Cleveland for the MAC tournament quarterfinals next week with a victory in it 2015-16 regular season finale on Friday (March 4) over MAC East Division archrival Miami.
• The Bobcats fell to 37-39 (.487) all-time against the Zips. Ohio dropped its third-straight game to Akron and suffered a 2-0 2016 regular season sweep at the hands of the Zips. The Bobcats lost an 80-68 decision to the Zips on Feb. 2 at the Convocation Center in Athens.
• Simmons recorded at least 20 points in a game for the fourth game in a row and 10th time this year. He has recorded double figures in scoring 20 times this season. Simmons has led the team in assists a team-high 27 times this year. He has logged at least five assists in all but three games this season. His 223 assists this season surpassed the 218 D.J. Cooper distributed in 2009-10 for the third-most in a single season in program history.
• Kaminski reached double digits in scoring for the second game in a row and 16th time this year.
• Setty reached double figures in scoring for the third game in a row, fifth time in the last six games, 17th time this year and 20th time in his career.
• Dartis reached double digits in scoring for the 11th time this year.

QUOTABLE
Second-year head coach Saul Phillips on where team stands in MAC tournament seeding race
“I just know that every scenario is better if we win."

Redshirt sophomore guard Jaaron Simmons on the loss
"We feel confident every night on the court. We fought. We were right there."

UP NEXT
Ohio closes the 2015-16 regular season with a 'Battle of the Bricks' matchup at Miami (12-18, 6-11 MAC) on Friday (March 4). Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET at Millett Hall. The contest will be broadcast regionally on Time Warner Cable Sports Channel and distributed nationally on ESPN3. The RedHawks have won three straight since being handed a 76-64 loss by Bobcats on Feb. 20 at the Convocation Center in Athens -- including a 67-59 road victory over MAC East Division rival Buffalo on Tuesday at Alumni Arena in Amherst, N.Y.

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