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AKRON, Ohio – The Ohio men's basketball team returned to action on Friday (Jan. 17), falling to Akron, 92-80, inside James A. Rhodes Arena.
Overall, Ohio shot 34.4 percent from the field, 25.0 percent from three and went 30-of-33 from the line, while Akron shot 51.5 percent from the field, 38.5 percent from three and went 12-of-15 from the line. Ohio outrebounded Akron, 43-36, while the Zips dished out 24 assists to Ohio's eight. Ohio forced nine Akron turnovers, while turning the ball over 12 times, with both teams scoring nine points off those turnovers.
Individually, the Bobcats were led by graduate student guard
Shereef Mitchell (Omaha, Neb.) with a career-high 27 points, going 9-of-16 from the field, 3-of-6 from three and 6-of-6 from the line, while grabbing five rebounds. Redshirt sophomore guard
AJ Brown (Orlando, Fla.) scored 15 points, while going 8-of-8 from the line. Junior forward
Aidan Hadaway (Lafayette, Ga) added nine points and seven rebounds, while forward
AJ Clayton (Roseville, Ohio) added eight points, six rebounds and three blocks.
Akron won the tip and got on the board first, but Ohio responded with a three from Hadaway to take and early lead. After the Zips retook the lead, free throws from Brown tied the game at 6-6. After a three from Akron out them back in front, the two teams traded baskets, with Akron taking an 11-7 lead going into the first media timeout. After a layup from Hadaway cut the deficit to 11-9, Akron would take a 17-9 lead before a three from Sheldon cut the Zips lead back down to five with 11:49 to go in the half.
After free throws from Hadaway and a driving layup from Mitchell cut the Ohio deficit to four, a jumper from Akron put the Zips back up six entering the under-eight media timeout. Out of the timeout, Hadaway hit two free throws to cut the deficit to four, however, Akron would go on a 9-2 run to take an 11-point lead, forcing Ohio to call a timeout with 5:27 to go in the half. The Bobcats were unable to cut into the Akron lead, with the Zips increasing their lead to 44-29 going into the half.
At the half, Ohio shot 22 percent from the field, 18 percent from three and were 13-of-16 from the line, while Akron shot 52 percent from the field, 40 percent from three and were 4-of-5 from the line. Ohio outrebounded the Zips, 23-21, however, Akron recorded 10 assists to Ohio's four and had five blocks compared to one from the Bobcats.
Akron opened the half on a 4-0 run to take a 48-29 lead. Then thanks to free throws and a three from Mitchell and a driving layup from freshman guard
Elijah Elliott (Orlando, Fla.), Ohio cut the deficit to 50-38, forcing a timeout from Akron. Another three from Mitchell cut the Ohio deficit to 12, however, Akron would go on am 8-2 run to increase their lead.
Free throws from Clayton helped cut the Akron lead to 12 with 10 minutes to go, however Akron responded with a driving layup to stop the Ohio run. After Akron increased their lead, Ohio was able to use free throws from Clayton and Mitchell to help cut the deficit down to 14 with 4:33 remaining. Free throws from Brown helped Ohio cut the Akron lead to 11 with 3:29 to go, however, that was as close as the Bobcats would get, falling by the final of 92-80.
For Akron, Isaiah Gray led the Zips with 22 points, while Amani Lyles added 17 points and six assists.
Up next, the Bobcats are back on the road on Tuesday, Jan. 21 when they head to Ypsilanti, Mich. to take on Eastern Michigan. Tip-off is set for 6:30 p.m. and can be seen on ESPN+.
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