Displaying items by tag: Zips

Saturday, 16 March 2013 20:36

Akron Beats Ohio 65-46

There was no doublt in the second half as the University of Akron men's basketball team erased a close first half to cruise past the Ohio University Bobcats 65-46 at Quicken Loans Arena to snag their third MAC Championship and an automatic berth to the NCAA Tournament.

Let the March Madness begin.

Demetrius Treadwell and Chauncey Gilliam both led the Akron offense with 13 points each; Nick Harney had 11 and Zeke Marshall scored 10 as four Akron players poured in double digits.

Ohio's Reggie Keely paced the Bobcats with 19 but he was the only OU player in double digits.

(University of Akron) The top-seeded University of Akron men's basketball team earned its second trip to the NCAA Tournament in three years, using a dominating second half performance to defeat second-seeded Ohio 65-46 in the FirstEnergy Mid-American Conference Tournament championship game on Saturday night at Quicken Loans Arena.

Tournament MVP Demetrius "Tree" Treadwell paced four Zips in double figures with a double-double of 13 points and 10 rebounds. Treadwell was named to the all-tournament team as well as Zeke Marshall, who finished the night with 10 points and nine boards.

Nick Harney spent 18 minutes at the point guard position and turned in 11 points, four rebounds and a pair of assists in the effort. Chauncey Gilliam connected on 5-of-8 shots from the field for 13 points of his own and added three steals.

The Zips' defense held Ohio (24-9), which entered the contest averaging 35.7 percent accuracy from behind the arc, to a meager 1-of-20 from long range for the game and 18.5 percent shooting from the field in the second half.

Akron (26-6) fell into a hole in the first period, when Ohio compiled what would eventually become a 13-4 run in the early part of the half. The Zips were their own worst enemy during that stretch, shooting just 3-of-11 in the first 10 minutes and committing five turnovers.

UA led 8-6 before the Bobcats scored 10 unanswered points, pounding the paint and taking advantage of Akron's uncharacteristic miscues in the half court set. It was not until Treadwell broke the five-minute drought with a putback at the 11:37 mark that Akron began to chip away.

Harney's dunk in transition with 8:21 on the clock allowed the Zips to gain enough momentum to string together a 9-2 run, highlighted by a long 3-pointer from Jake Kretzer in front of Ohio's bench that cut the deficit to four at 27-23 with just over three minutes to play.

T.J. Hall got a floater to fall at the buzzer to give Ohio a 29-26 advantage at the break. The Bobcats finished the opening stanza shooting 48.1 percent from the field, but showed stretches of over 60 percent efficiency despite a 1-for-8 effort from long range. The Zips connected on 10-of-24 attempts in the first half and out-rebounded the Bobcats, 18-13.

Akron opened the second half on a 14-4 run, taking its first lead since 16:44 of the first half when Treadwell fought his way to the basket for a layup. Chauncey Gilliam marched down the court on the next possession and buried a three to add to the cause.

Carmelo Betancourt stepped in to take a charge from D.J. Cooper at 10:09 to reel in all the energy in the building, and things continued to look up from there.

Harney's 3-point play at the 6:44 mark of the second half all but sealed the victory for the Zips, putting them ahead by their largest margin to that point at 11.

Zips Notebook: Akron is the 18th No. 1 seed to win the MAC tournament ... the last No. 1 seed to win came in 2008, also the last time a team won at least a share of the regular-season title and the MAC Tournament in the same season (Kent State) ... ninth-year head coach Keith Dambrot is now 19-6 in the MAC Tournament, including three tournament titles ... Akron's 26 wins ties the school record for wins in a season (1971-72, 2006-07) ... Demetrius "Tree" Treadwell recorded his ninth double-double of the season, including his third-straight ... the 46 points by Ohio was the lowest for an Akron opponent in 33 tournament games.

- - -

Akron To Rally Sunday For NCAA Selection Party

(University of Akron) The University of Akron will hold an NCAA Tournament Selection Show Watch Party for its Mid-American Conference champion men's basketball team on Sunday, March 17, starting at 5 p.m. ET at James A. Rhodes Arena. The top-seeded Zips defeated second-seeded Ohio on Saturday at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland to earn the league's automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament.

Fans can choose their seats on the west side of the arena to watch the 6 p.m. Selection Show broadcast on CBS, which will be shown on the videoboard and additional projector screens located on the court. Concessions stands will be open and parking is free.

Members of the men's basketball program, which is appearing in the NCAA Tournament for the third time in five seasons and fourth time in program history (1986, 2009, 2011), will be on hand to watch the Selection Show with Zips fans.

Representatives from the Zips Athletics Ticket Office will be at the Rhodes Arena Ticket Office to assist those interested in requesting tickets for the Zips' NCAA Tournament contest.

From 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. on Sunday, fans can request an order for NCAA Tournament tickets through the C.P. and Cornelia S. Chima Athletics Ticket Office via phone at 1-888-99-AKRON (25766). The ticket office located at InfoCision Stadium – Summa Field (375 E. Exchange Street, near Gate 1 at the southwest corner of the venue, at the corner of E. Exchange and S. Union streets) will re-open on Monday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. to take additional orders.

Fans should be aware that these will be requests ONLY. Requests will be filled on a priority basis, in the following order – Zips Assist Club members, men's basketball season ticketholders who are Z-Fund members, men's basketball season ticketholders, Z-Fund members who are not men's basketball season ticketholders, sponsors and the general public.

Those who request an order will be contacted on Tuesday with confirmation that their order has been filled or that they have been placed on a waiting list. The Chima Athletics Ticket Office will make every attempt to secure additional tickets through other participating institutions. If successful, a ticket office representative will call and confirm orders at that time.

Student tickets will be available first to AK Rowdies members on Monday beginning at 9 a.m., via in person orders ONLY, at the Chima Athletics Ticket Office with valid University ID (one ticket per student). At 10 a.m. Monday, any remaining student tickets will be made available to current members of the general student body (one ticket per student with valid Zip card).

Please visit the #ZipsGameday page on GoZips.com for further details on Akron's NCAA postseason journey and how ticket orders will be processed and distributed.

Published in Local

Saturday, 16 March 2013 07:59

Zips Win KSU Rematch When It Counts

To end the regular season, Kent State's Golden Flashes handed the University of Akron Zips a rare 2012-13 season loss. Last night at Quicken Loans Arena, the Zips returned the favor but this time it ended KSU's dreams of postseason play.

- - -

(University of Akron) Behind Zeke Marshall's 18 points, 10 rebounds and seven blocked shots, top-seeded Akron defeated fourth-seeded Kent State on Friday night in the semifinal round of the FirstEnergy Mid-American Conference Tournament at Quicken Loans Arena.

The Zips (25-6) will make their seventh-straight league championship game appearance on Saturday against the winner of tonight's other semifinal contest between second-seeded Ohio and third-seeded Western Michigan. The championship tips off at 6:30 p.m. ET on ESPN2, with the winner earning the league's automatic NCAA Tournament bid.

Marshall shot 7-of-11 from the field, including making his only attempt from behind the 3-point arc. He also went 3-for-6 from the foul line. Demetrius "Tree" Treadwell tallied 14 points and 12 rebounds and four assists for UA, while Nick Harney scored 11 points on the strength of a 4-for-4 showing from the floor. Harney also had four assists as the Zips had 16 dishes on 22 made field goals.

Randal Holt led Kent State (20-13) with 19 points and was the Flashes' only double-digit scorer.

Akron opened the second half on a 7-3 run, including Marshall's second 3-pointer of the season, to take a 39-32 advantage. The next run would be made by Kent State as the Flashes closed to within one point (41-40) at the 14:03 mark. Harney ended the run with a bucket on Akron's next possession.

However, Kent State would take their first lead of the period at 44-43 with 12:54 left on the clock. It was the Flashes' first lead since the 13:07 mark of the first half, when the led 9-8. KSU would take a 46-43 lead into the under-12 media timeout while riding a 15-4 run.

From there, both teams traded buckets as the game went into the final eight minutes knotted at 50-all. The Zips would answer with four-straight points to open up a 54-50 lead with 5:57 left, but Kent State would use a 7-0 run to force an Akron timeout with the Zips down 57-54.

KSU would maintain its three-point advantage until Marshall closed the gap to one point (57-56) with a dunk with 1:58 remaining. A layup by Treadwell with 1:26 to go would give the Zips the lead for good as Akron closed the game on a 6-2 run.

Defense was the name of the game early on, as the contest saw just seven combined points scored by the 15:50 media timeout. Scoring would continue to be slow as the Zips would manage to grab a 10-9 lead by the under-12 media timeout (11:49). The lead came courtesy of an 8-2 run.

With the Zips ahead by three, Akron used its second 8-2 run to open up a 28-19 lead with 3:41 left, the largest advantage for either team in the opening frame. The Flashes would slowly close the gap, but the Zips would take a 32-29 lead into the intermission.

Treadwell and Reggie McAdams led the Zips' attack with seven points each as Akron shot 54.5 percent from the floor and 50.0 percent from long range in the first half. UA finished with 11 assists on 12 buckets. Kent State won the rebounding battle 17-12.

Zips Notebook: Akron's run of seven-straight title game appearances is the longest ever in the MAC and is the second-longest active streak in the nation (Gonzaga, 16) ... the Zips are now 4-2 in the MAC Tournament against Kent State, including a 4-1 mark at Quicken Loans Arena ... with the win, the Zips earned a full point for Akron in the PNC Wagon Wheel Challenge and Akron leads 6.0-3.0 ... Demetrius "Tree" Treadwell now has eight double-doubles on the season while Zeke Marshall has six ... tomorrow's MAC Title game marks the ninth time in MAC Tournament history that both the men's and women's team from a single school made the finals in the same season ... the last program to do so was Kent State in 2006.

Published in College

Saturday, 09 March 2013 07:39

KSU Claims Wagon Wheel; 68-64 Over Zips

Without the services of starting point guard Alex Abreu following his arrest on drug trafficking charges the Zips had a tough hill to climb beating neighborhood rival Kent State in the regular-season closing Wagon Wheel game. Despite a hard rally in the second half, the University of Akron squad fell short in sending a message they were whole and ready to go heading into next week's MAC Tournament rounds.

- - -

(University of Akron athletics) Despite a late second-half rally, The University of Akron men's basketball team lost 68-64 to neighborhood rival Kent State on Friday at James A. Rhodes Arena in the latest edition of the PNC Wagon Wheel Challenge.

The loss snapped a five-game win streak for the Zips (24-6, 14-2 Mid-American) against the Flashes (19-12, 9-7 MAC) and ended a 15-game home win streak.

Three Akron players scored in double-figure points, led by Zeke Marshall's 14, Demetrius "Tree" Treadwell's 13 and Reggie McAdams' 12. Treadwell also grabbed 13 rebounds to tally his seventh double-double of the year. Marshall had eight boards for the Zips who out-rebounded the Flashes 44-39 overall and 24-12 on the offensive glass.

With his five blocked shots, Marshall also set the MAC's single-season blocked shots record with 109.

Kent State was led by Darren Goodson's 19 points and team-high eight rebounds.

Treadwell and Marshall got the Akron faithful on their feet to start the second half, scoring six points in the lane to spark the offense. The 6-2 run forced Kent State to call timeout with its lead reduced to 42-31.

The Golden Flashes responded and went into the under-12 media timeout leading 46-32.

Akron once again trimmed the lead down to 11 (50-39) with 8:50 left, in which the lead would hover there for the next few minutes. A 9-3 run would put the Zips back in the game, capped off by a Chauncey Gilliam floater, cutting the deficit to 57-51 heading into the final three minutes of the game.

With KSU up nine, the Jake Kretzer and McAdams hit back-to-back 3-pointers to cut the deficit to 64-61 with 28 seconds remaining. Akron would then start fouling to conserve clock. However, the Zips would not be able to overcome the deficit and would fall 68-64.

The Zips scored the first two buckets of the game, both by Marshall with the assist from Carmelo Betancourt, but made just two of their next 10 shots to fall behind 14-9 by the 11:31 media timeout.

Akron kept the margin close until back-to-back buckets gave the Golden Flashes a 26-15 lead with 7:50 left in the opening half. Three minutes later, the Akron deficit was 34-18, forcing the Zips to call timeout with 4:46 left in the half.

The Kent State lead would remain in double figures as Akron went to the locker room down 40-25.

The Zips finished the first 20 minutes shooting 34.4 percent from the field and 18.2 percent from behind the arc. Kent State shot 46.7 percent in the opening half and forced eight UA turnovers, while the rebounding battle was knotted at 19-all.

Treadwell led the Zips with six points and four boards in the half. Betancourt, McAdams and Marshall finished with five points each. Betancourt finished with three assists, one steal and one turnover.

The Zips will open the MAC Tournament as the No. 1 seed and will play in the semifinals on Friday, March 15, at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland. Tip-off is set for 6:30 p.m. ET and the contest will air live on SportsTime Ohio.

Zips Notebook: The Zips honored seniors Chauncey Gilliam, Zeke Marshall and Brian Walsh before the game ... Carmelo Betancourt made his second-collegiate start, his first since starting the season opener at Coastal Carolina on Nov. 9 ... Akron leads the PNC Wagon Wheel Challenge 5.5-3.5 following tonight's outcome ... Marshall passed Ohio's Patrick Flomo (105) for the MAC's single-season blocked shots mark with his second swat of the night ... tonight's 24 offensive rebounds marked the fourth time this year the Zips had 20-plus boards on the offensive glass.

Published in College

Saturday, 02 March 2013 23:05

Zips Streak Ends At 19

The University of Akron men's basketball team saw its 19-game winning streak snapped on Saturday after falling 81-67 to the Buffalo Bulls at Alumni Arena.

(University of Akron athletics) The loss snapped Akron's nation's-best 19-game winning streak, including a seven-game run on the road. The loss dropped the Zips to 23-5, 13-1 in the Mid-American Conference.

Zeke Marshall led the Zips with 17 points, six rebounds, five blocked shots and three steals. Demetrius "Tree" Treadwell and Alex Abreu finished with 14 points each.

Akron finished the game shooting 40.6 percent from the floor (28-of-69), but connected on just 19.0 percent from behind the arc (4-of-21). Buffalo (12-17, 7-7 MAC) shot 56.0 percent (28-of-50), including 41.2 percent from long range (7-of-17).

Buffalo's Javon McCrea led all scorers with 26 points.

Marshall, with his fourth block of the game coming at the 16:07 mark of the second half, became just the second MAC player to swat at least 100 shots in a season.

It didn't take long for the Zips to tie the game to open the second half. Deji Ibitayo drove the lane to get the layup and the foul to send the game into the first media timeout of the second half tied at 41-all.

The lead would seesaw back-and-forth before Buffalo would open a 52-46 advantage with 9:53 to go in the game. That would be the UB advantage heading into the final 8:00 of the game (56-50).

Buffalo came out of the under-8 media timeout and opened up a 10-point lead at 60-50 with 7:06 to go, the Bulls' largest of the game to that point. Abreu, with the shot clock running down, would hit a 3-pointer on Akron's next possession.

The deficit would be too much as the Zips would fall 81-67 for the first time since Dec. 15 (at Detroit).

Both teams traded buckets early before the Bulls used a quick 7-0 run to open a 12-6 lead. The Zips would score eight of the next 11 points to close the gap to 15-14 by the under-12 media timeout (11:15).

Buffalo maintained the lead for most of the next four minutes, thanks mostly to the 3-point shot as the Bulls connected on 5-of-9 to open the game. UB would lead 24-19 at the under-8 media timeout (7:44).

Akron would fall behind by as many as nine points in the opening 20 minutes, but would head into the locker room down 37-32.

Akron shot 43.8 percent from the floor in the first half (14-of-32), connecting on just 1-of-6 from behind the arc. Buffalo closed the half shooting 52.0 percent from the field (13-of-25) and 50 percent from long range (7-of-14). Turnovers were tied 6-6 while the Zips held an 18-13 advantage on the boards.

Marshall led all scorers with 13 points to go with three boards, two blocked shots and two steals. Abreu and Treadwell had six points each.

The Zips return home for their final regular-season homestand of the season when they play host to the Miami (Ohio) RedHawks on Tuesday, March 5. Tip off is set for 7 p.m. ET on SportsTime Ohio.

Zips Notebook: Zeke Marshall is now just four blocked shots behind Ohio's Patrick Flomo for the MAC single-season blocked shots record (101) ... the loss also snapped a 14-game conference winning streak for Akron dating back to last season ... the Zips magic number to wrap up the MAC regular season title and the No. 1 overall seed in next month's conference tournament remains at one.

Published in Local

Saturday, 22 October 2011 15:43

Body Found At InfoCision Stadium

Authorities say the body of someone who apparently committed suicide was found at Akron's InfoCision Stadium, hours before a game was to kick off today.

Gregg Bach, a spokesman for the University of Akron football team, says the body was discovered Saturday morning in the stands of InfoCision Stadium, and that university police have concluded their investigation. He didn't say where in the stadium the body was found or who found it.

University spokeswoman Laura Massie says police have told her the death appears to be a suicide.

The person found was not a current University of Akron student, but was a former student.

The finding did not impact the start of today's game at InfoCision Stadium, with the University of Akron Zips playing the Ohio University Bobcats. Kickoff took place at 3 PM, as scheduled.

AkronNewsNow's Mike Ward contributed to this report.

Published in Local

Monday, 12 September 2011 11:38

Zips Soccer Players Honored

Junior co-captains Chad Barson and Scott Caldwell were each recognized nationally for their efforts Monday in leading The University of Akron men's soccer team to a 4-0 victory at Saint Louis last weekend.

Barson was named to Top Drawer Soccer's National Team of the Week while Caldwell earned like accolades from College Soccer News.

Barson, a defender from Lewis Center, Ohio, logged all 90 minutes at center back for the Zips (3-0-1), who posted their third shutout in four games Saturday. UA dominated SLU in nearly every category, limiting the Billikens to just four shots for the game (to the Zips' 21), including two shots on goal. For the season, Akron has allowed just one goal in nearly 400 minutes of play.

Caldwell, a midfielder from Braintree, Mass., played a key role in all four UA goals with a goal and three assists. Moreover, his strike in the 85th minute gave the Zips a commanding 3-0 lead and was of the spectacular variety, sailing over a wall of defenders from distance and tucking just under the upper-right crossbar.

After playing the last three games on the road, Akron will return to FirstEnergy Stadium – Cub Cadet Field this weekend to host The University of Akron Tournament starting Friday at 7 p.m. versus New Mexico and continuing Sunday at 6 p.m. against Cal Poly.

Published in Sports

Monday, 12 September 2011 09:37

UA Women's Golf Begins Season Today

The University of Akron women’s golf team will open its fourth season today when it travels to Lincoln, Neb., for the 2011 Chip-N Club Invitational at the par-72, 6,186-yard Country Club of Lincoln.

The Zips open a season at the event for the second-consecutive year. Akron finished tied for sixth place in the 2010 edition of the invitational after posting a two-round score of 618 (+42).

Joining Akron in the 16-team field will be Creighton, Florida Gulf Coast, Houston Baptist, Iowa, Lamar, McNees State, No. 80 Missouri State, No. 94 Nebraska (host), North Dakota State, Redlands Community College, No. 87 Sam Houston State, SMU, South Dakota, No. 20 Texas A&M and Wichita State. The Zips enter the event ranked No. 108 in the Golfstat rankings.

Akron opens the campaign following the most successful season in the program’s three-year history. The Zips finished 2010-11 with top-10 finishes in all 11 events, including the team’s first team title at the Third Annual Zippy Invitational (Oct. 11-12, 2010).

Three seniors will lead the way for Akron, including Kristen Hill, Amanda Butler and Katie Jenior. Hill is a two-time First-Team All-MAC selection (2009, 2010) and was named to the Golf World 50 Women’s College Players to Watch list for the 2011-12 season by Campus Insider blogger Ryan Herrington on Sept. 7. UA will also have the services of sophomores Sara Chaves and Whitney Graff, as well as freshmen Sara Johansson and Laura Murray.

Published in Sports