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.

The University of Akron is looking at ways to close a projected $26.7 million budget gap projected for 2014.

University President Dr. Luis Proenza discussed one of the main factors contributing to the budget shortfall.

"The changing demographics have meant slightly lower enrollment, which has the biggest impact on the budget," he explained.

Dr. Proenza also points to a $14 million loss in federal stimulus funding as a principal reason for the negative outlook.

Dr. Proenza addressed approximatley 200 faculty and staff members Tuesday to go over strategies to combat the shortfall.

UA is exploring options such as  boosting the enrollment of "new traditional" students such as adult learners and veterans to find new sources of revenue.

"That means we have a very large cross-section of potential students we have not traditionally served, but we intend to do so now,"  Proenza said.

The university president also was looking at UA becoming in his words "more entreprenurial" in terms of finding new services to attract potential students to generate additional revenue for the school.

Proenza says these types of issues are not unusual in terms of higher education, but that the university would do what it could to right-size the budget.

Zip's standout senior center Zeke Marshall led four University of Akron players making the Mid-American Conference all-conference teams announced today.

Marshall, leading the league in blocked shots and with a 13 points-per-game scoring averge, made the First Team. Junior forward Demetrius "Tree" Treadwell is on the second team while Alex Abreu and Jake Kretzer were honorable mention and all-freshman respectively.

Abreu continues to serve out a suspension pending his case on drug trafficking charges filed last week. The Zips are the top seed in the MAC Tournament opening this week at Quicken Loans Arena in Cleveland; they play Friday night.

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(University of Akron athletics) Senior center Zeke Marshall and junior forward Demetrius "Tree" Treadwell headlined four Akron Zips on this year's Mid-American Conference all-conference teams, the league office announced on Monday.

Marshall earned First-Team All-MAC honors while Treadwell was named Second-Team All-MAC. Joining Marshall and Treadwell were Alex Abreu (Honorable Mention All-MAC) and Jake Kretzer (All-Freshman). The four selectees join the 2009 and 2010 seasons as the most players named All-MAC in program history.

"Each of these players had great years and helped this team win a lot of games," ninth-year head coach Keith Dambrot said. "Having four players earn All-MAC honors is a tribute to the balance of this team and I am glad they were recognized for their hard work and sacrifices for that balance."

Marshall led the league in blocked shots (3.6 bpg) and finished in the top-15 in field goal percentage (1st, .659), rebounds (7th, 6.9 rpg), offensive rebounding (7th, 2.5 rpg), defensive rebounding (8th, 4.4 rpg) and scoring (11th, 13.0 ppg). Marshall was a second-team All-MAC selection in 2012.

Treadwell earned his first All-MAC selection after averaging 11.2 points and 7.7 rebounds per game. The junior from Euclid, Ohio, is shooting .506 from the field and is tied for fourth in the MAC with seven double-doubles this season.

Abreu, a Second-Team All-MAC selection last season, averaged 10.3 points and 6.0 assists in the regular season while finishing top-five in the league in assists (3rd, 6.0 apg), assist-to-turnover ratio (3rd, 2.0) and free throw shooting percentage (5th, .810).

Kretzer is the eighth Zip to earn a spot on the MAC All-Freshman team and the first since Marshall made it in 2010. He finished in the top-10 among MAC freshmen in 3-pointer percentage (4th, .346), rebounding (9th, 3.2 rpg) and points (10th, 6.0 ppg). He made four starts and appeared in all 30 games.

The league will announce the Freshman and Defensive Players of the Year, as well as the Sixth Man Award, on Tuesday. Coach and Player of the Year will be announced on Wednesday.

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.

All-MAC First Team
Zeke Marshall, C, Akron
Javon McCrea, F, Buffalo
Chris Evans, W/F, Kent State
Rian Pearson, G, Toledo
D.J. Cooper, G, Ohio

All-MAC Second Team
Demetrius "Tree" Treadwell, F, Akron
Jauwan Scaife, G, Ball State
A'uston Calhoun, F, Bowling Green
Kyle Randall, G, Central Michigan
Shayne Whittington, F/C, Western Michigan

All-MAC Third Team
Majok Majok, F, Ball State
Randal Holt, G, Kent State
Walter Offutt, G, Ohio
Reggie Keely, F, Ohio
Julius "Juice" Brown, G, Toledo

Honorable Mention
Alex Abreu, G, Akron
Jordon Crawford, G, Bowling Green
Glenn Bryant, F, Eastern Michigan
Will Felder, F, Miami
Nate Hutcheson, F, Western Michigan

MAC All-Freshman Team
Jake Kretzer, G/F, Akron
Jarryn Skeete, G, Buffalo
Chris Fowler, G, Central Michigan
Nathan Boothe, C, Toledo
Darius Paul, F, Western Michigan

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.

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(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.

The University of Akron point guard who was arrested after police seized more than five pounds of marijuana pleaded not guilty at his arraignment Friday morning.

Alex Abreu, 21, of Akron, pleaded not guilty to drug charges including trafficking at Akron Municipal Court. His bond was set at $5,000.

Narcotics officers arrested Abreu and 18-year-old Austin L. Durgala at Durgala's residence on East Dartmore Street on Thursday.

The University has released a statement, saying Abreu has been suspended from the team until the case has been resolved. The UA athletic office has confirmed that Abreu was also suspended for a game for violating team rules. Details on the incident were not released.

Alex Abreu's attorney Bob Meeker tells AkronNewsNow the arrest has had  an impact not only on Abreu " It's obviously a sad day for the University, the basketball team, the coach, the overall communtiy and for Alex."

Meeker says he hyasn't had a chance to talk in-depth with Abreu about the events that led to his arrest but will do so now that he's out on bond.

" Here he's leading a team hopefully into the NCAA tournament, and has had a great athletic career at the university, and now to have this happen. It's unclear whether he'll ever have a chance to continue that. So it's sad from that perspective. He in my mind was the person, the glue that held the team together and coach Dambrot had a wonderful relationship with him, so I'm so sorry that all that has been compromsied at this point, but I'm hoping for the best as we get down the road," says Meeker..

Abreu's next court appearence is scheduled for March 22.

The Zips are coming off their 2nd straight MAC regular-season championship, and will likely be without Abreu for next week's conference tournament.

It could not have come at a worse time for Keith Dambrot's high-flying University of Akron Zips men's basketball team. At one time holding the nation's longest win streak on the season (19 straight) and with 24 wins under their belts, the Zips have one more regular season game tomorrow night against backyard rivals Kent State before entering the Mid-American Conference Tournament as the top seed. They'll do it without the spark of their team.

Alex Abreu, the junior starting point guard Dambrot counts on to direct the team on the court, was arrested by Akron police officers on marijuana trafficking charges according to reports from the Akron Beacon Journal. On Twitter, ABJ reporter Phil Trexler tweeted Abreu was arrested Thursday and has been suspended from the team.

The Beacon Journal reports Abreu, with 10.3 points per game, is being held in the Summit County Jail.

This has been a truly remarkable season for both Dambrot's 24-5 men's squad as the MAC champions and top seed with their first post-season appearance set for March 15. On the women's side Coach Jodi Kest led her team to a 21-8 season and the MAC Eastern Division title going into next week's MAC women's basketball tournament as the third seed.

In a terse statement the University's athletic department forwarded all questions to the Akron Police Department while confirming the reports.

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(University of Akron athletics) Junior point guard Alex Abreu has been suspended from The University of Akron men's basketball team indefinitely pending the outcome of a police investigation.

The Zips put the glass slipper back on the foot of their Cinderella season with a 72-58 win over the Miami RedHawks at the JAR to clinch not only their 24th win on the season but also the top seed in the upcoming MAC Conference Tournament.

It was truly a team effort as four Akron players scored in double digits led by Zeke Marshall's 14 points to repeat as over Mid-American Conference champions.

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(University of Akron Athletics) Zeke Marshall led four Akron players in double-figure points with 14 in helping the Zips to a 72-58 win over Miami (Ohio) and clinching their second-consecutive Mid-American Conference championship on Tuesday night at James A. Rhodes Arena.

Marshall made 6-of-7 shots from the field, grabbed eight rebounds and registered three blocked shots to go with a career-high five assists. Nick Harney (13), Alex Abreu (12) and Demetrius "Tree" Treadwell (10) rounded out the team's double-digit scorers. Abreu also had seven assists and three steals, and Treadwell tallied seven rebounds.

Akron (24-5, 14-1 MAC) is the third team in the last 30 years to repeat as regular-season champions, joining Ball State (1989-90) and Kent State (2010-11). Overall, 12 teams have won back-to-back regular-season crowns in the MAC's 65 years of basketball.

Jon Harris led Miami (8-20, 3-12) with 21 points.

After holding a 31-28 margin at the half, Akron pushed its advantage to 44-30 courtesy of a 13-2 run to open the second half. The Akron defense forced four turnovers and held Miami to just three shot attempts over the first 5:08 of the half.

The RedHawks began to chip away at the Zips' lead at the charity stripe, hitting four-straight free throws to trim the gap to 47-36 with 12 minutes to play. Both teams traded buckets over the next four-plus minutes, with the Akron lead shrinking to eight. The Zips once again had an answer thanks to back-to-back buckets that pushed their lead back to 59-46 heading into the under-8 media timeout and the RedHawks did not threaten the rest of the way.

With the score tied 5-5, the Zips used a short 7-0 run to open up a 12-5 lead with 14:51 on the clock to force the RedHawks to call their first timeout of the game. The run us jump-started by baskets from Treadwell, Abreu and Jake Kretzer.

The Zips opened up their first double-digit lead of the night thanks to a 9-0 run, going up 11 (26-15) with 6:53 left before halftime. The RedHawks responded with an 8-0 to force Akron to call it's first timeout with 2:56 to go in the half and the Zips leading 29-28.

Deji Ibitayo's free throws with 1:25 left would be the final points of the half as the Zips took a 31-28 lead into the locker room.

Treadwell led Akron with eight points, four boards, one assist and one steal. Harney finished the half with seven points while Abreu had six points and one assist.

Both teams shot better than 40 percent from the field, with the Zips shooting 46.2 percent. Miami (Ohio) held a 19-14 advantage on the boards and committed eight turnovers to Akron's seven.

Akron closes the regular season on Friday, March 8, when the Zips play host to neighborhood rival Kent State at the JAR. Tip-off for the PNC Wagon Wheel Challenge contest is set for 7 p.m. ET and will air live on ESPN2.

Zips Notebook: Zeke Marshall's previous high for assists was three against Oral Roberts (Feb. 18, 2012) ... the Zips have now won 20 of their last 21 games, in addition to 15-straight at Rhodes Arena ... Akron has defeated Miami in six-straight and in 10 of the last 11 contests ... UA has held 19 of 28 opponents to 65 points or less, going a perfect 19-0.

Playing as a ranked team for the first time in program history, the Akron Zips passed their first test thanks to an 88-81 overtime win over Ohio on Wednesday in a Mid-American Conference East Division showdown at the Convocation Center.

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(University of Akron athletics - www.gozips.com) Akron (23-4, 13-0 MAC) extended its winning streak to a nation's-best 19 games, in addition to breaking the MAC record for the best start to league play in the conference's 65 years of existence.

Demetrius "Tree" Treadwell led the charge with a career-high 21 points on 7-of-13 shooting from the field and 7-of-9 from the charity stripe. He also grabbed eight rebounds and dished out two assists in leading four Zips in double figures.

Jake Kretzer also set a career-high with 19 points, going 6-of-6 from the floor and 5-of-5 from long range. Zeke Marshall and Alex Abreu finished with 16 points each. Marshall, who fouled out with 47.8 seconds left in regulation, added seven boards and four blocked shots while Abreu dished out a game-high nine dimes.

D.J. Cooper led Ohio (20-8, 11-2 MAC) with 26 points.

The Zips opened the second half on a 10-4 run to force Ohio to call its second timeout with 16:38 mark with the Bobcats' lead down to five (45-40). The highlight of the run was a Marshall blocked shot of Reggie Keely's dunk attempt, opening up Nick Harney for the uncontested fastbreak dunk. Kretzer extended the run to 13-4 with his second 3-pointer to cut the deficit to 45-43 by the first media timeout of the second half.

The run climbed to 19-4 as Akron opened up a 49-45 lead by the 13:57 mark. The Zips' defense held the Bobcats without a field goal for 6:12 on the clock before a Jon Smith lay-up ended the run. Ohio tied the game briefly at 49-all before Abreu put the Zips back on top with a long 3-pointer (11:49).

After the Zips opened several six-point leads, Ohio tied the game at 63-63 with 6:18 remaining on back-to-back 3-pointers by Cooper. Kretzer's fifth 3-pointer of the night pushed Akron back in front, 66-63, with 4:46 to go in the game.

This one came down to the end of regulation. The Zips had a shot to extend their lead, but Harney's shot would just miss. Smith would tie the game at 72-all with 0.7 seconds left to send this one into overtime.

Akron opened up a 76-72 lead early in overtime, converting on two of its first three possessions. Treadwell gave the Zips a 79-73 lead with 2:16 left with an old fashion 3-point play, his 20th point of the night.

The Zips kept Ohio at bay from the charity stripe, holding an 87-81 lead with 41.6 left in the game. Akron would hold on for the 88-81 win in overtime.

Akron opened up an early 7-0 lead to force the Bobcats to call the first timeout of the game just 1:19 into the contest. The Zips scored on their next possession to make it 9-0. The Bobcats would answer and tie the game at 9-9 with 13:51 on the clock.

By the under-12 media timeout, the score remained tied at 13-13. Ohio used the game's third 9-0 run to open up a 22-13 advantage with 8:47 remaining in the opening half.

After a Kretzer 3-pointer with 5:37 on the clock cut the OU lead to 26-16, the Bobcats would hit back-to-back 3-pointers to open up a 32-16 advantage with 4:41 remaining to force an Akron timeout.

The Zips would win the final 4:41 to cut the Bobcat lead to 41-30 by halftime. Treadwell led the Zips with 10 points and three rebounds, while Marshall pitched in with seven points, three boards and one blocked shot.

Both teams shot the ball well over the first 20 minutes, with the Zips connecting on 52.2 percent (12-of-23) and the Bobcats shooting 56.0 percent (14-of-25). UA was forced into six turnovers compared to three by Ohio.

The Zips will conclude the final regular-season road trip of the season when they travel to Buffalo, N.Y., to face the Buffalo Bulls on Saturday, March 2. Tip off is set for 6 p.m. ET on SportsTime Ohio.

Zips Notebook: Zeke Marshall, with four blocked shots, broke his own school record with his 96th swat of the season ... the last Zips' player to shoot 100 percent from long range on at least five attempts was Steve McNees against Miami (Ohio) on Jan. 5, 2008 ... the Zips' 13-0 start to MAC play is the best since Miami (Ohio) went 12-0 to start league play during the 1957-58 season ... UA's 19-game winning streak is the second-longest in MAC history.