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AKRON, Ohio – The Ohio men's basketball team (9-10, 3-4 MAC) returned to action Tuesday night (Jan. 23), falling to Akron (15-4, 7-0 MAC), 67-58, inside James A. Rhodes Arena. 
 
Overall, Ohio shot 38.9 percent from the field, 28.6 percent from three and were 10-of-13 from the line, while Akron shot 41.9 percent from the field, 44.4 percent from three and were 23-of-29 from the line. Ohio outrebounded the Zips, 32-31 and forced 14 turnovers and dished out seven assists. 
 
Individually, graduate student guard Shereef Mitchell (Omaha, Neb.) led the Bobcats with 14 points, seven rebounds and three steals, followed by senior guard Jaylin Hunter (Manchester, Conn.) with 11 points, six rebounds and three assists. Junior forward AJ Clayton (Roseville, Ohio) scored 10 points, while fifth year guard Miles Brown (Rochester, N.Y.) added nine points and five rebounds. 
 
Akron won the tip and got on the board first, however the Bobcats matched the score early with a dunk from Clayton. Akron took a 6-2 lead before a jumper from redshirt sophomore guard/forward Ike Cornish (Baltimore, Md.) cut the lead to two. However, a 6-0 run from the Zips put Akron up 12-4, forcing the Bobcats to call a timeout with 11:31 remaining in the half. The Bobcats stopped the run with a jumper from Hunter, however, Akron matched it with a jumper and a three to take a 17-8 lead with 8:20 to go in the half. 

Out of the media timeout, Ohio went on an 8-3 run to cut the Bobcats' deficit to 25-18, forcing Akron to burn a 30-second timeout. Two free throws from Hunter cut the Akron lead to five, before the Zips countered with a three to take a 28-20 lead into the final media timeout of the half. The Bobcats were able to cut the Akron lead to six before the Zips hit a three at the end of the half to take a 35-26 lead into the locker room.
 
At the half, Ohio shot 34.5 percent from the field, 20 percent from three and were 4-for-4 from the line, while Akron shot 54.5 percent from the field, 50 percent from three and were 6-of-7 from the line. Ohio outrebounded Akron, 17-12, with seven offensive boards to the Zips zero. 
 
Individually, Clayton and Mitchell both recorded seven points, while Brown led the Bobcats with five rebounds. 
 
Ohio opened the half with back-to-back threes from Hunter and Mitchell to cut the deficit to three. Both teams traded baskets, with the Zips taking a 37-34 lead going into the first media timeout. After Akron went back up eight, a dunk from sophomore forward Aidan Hadaway (Lafayette, Ga.) stopped the Zips' run, cutting the Ohio deficit to 46-40 with 11;08 remaining in the game. 
 
A three transition three from sophomore guard Ajay Sheldon (Dublin, Ohio) cut the Akron lead to three with 10:16 to go, however, the Zips responded with an 8-0 run, before a Clayton three cut the Ohio deficit back down to six entering the under-eight media timeout. The Bobcats were able to cut the deficit to five, however, a 5-0 run from Akron helped but the Zips up, 60-51 going into the final media timeout.  A three-point play from Brown helped cut the Ohio deficit to five with 1:43 remaining, however, Akron was able to hit their free throws down the stretch, securing the 67-58 victory for Akron. 
 
For Akron, Enrique Freeman led with 19 points and 14 rebounds, followed by Greg Tribble and Shammah Scott with 10 points each. 
 
Up next, the Bobcats remain on the road on Friday, Jan. 26 when they head to Kent, Ohio to take on Kent State. Tip-off is set for 6:30 p.m. inside the M.A.C. Center and can be seen on CBS Sports Network. 
 
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