From The University Of Akron

As The University of Akron men's basketball team was making history on the court, Zips fans were making history in the stands as the program saw attendance increases across the board during the 2012-13 season.

In 16 home games this season, men's basketball attendance increased by 10 percent over last season, as well as seeing a crowd increase of 14 percent in Mid-American Conference contests. Student attendance proved to be one of the areas of greatest growth, jumping 28 percent overall from last year.

"The community support we saw this season was tremendous," ninth-year head coach Keith Dambrot said. "We would like to give a special thanks to the students this year as they did a great job coming out in record numbers. It is important to have a strong fan base as we continue to 'Think Bigger' and move forward as a program."
The Zips' average of 3,782 fans per home contest was the second-highest in Rhodes Arena history, trailing only the 1983-84 campaign, UA's first in the JAR. Akron's average attendance was the third-highest mark in the MAC while UA's 4,553 average for league contests was the second-highest in the conference. The Zips' 82.8 percent average capacity in league games was tops in the MAC, over 20 percent higher than the second-best mark (Ohio, 61.9 percent).

AUBURN HILLS, Mich. (AP) -- Akron knew it would be short-handed in the NCAA tournament, playing without suspended point guard Alex Abreu.......

It was bittersweet for University of Akron Men's Basketball coach Keith Dambrot to be matched up with Virginia Commonwealth University Thursday night in the 2nd Round of the NCAA Tournament.

With his former Assistant coach Shaka Smart leading the Rams, the two remain great friends. Dambrot admitted that when he's not coaching his own Zips to victory, he's watching VCU.

So where do his loyalties lie with the big 2nd round game this week?

In a tweet posted by Dambrot's daughter last week , Keith is seen proudly wearing a VCU T-shirt. Alysse does mention the irony, and that he probably won't be wearing this shirt for a while.

Akron and VCU also met each other last season, with the Rams coming away with a win in Overtime.

This time, the matchup is at The Palace of Auburn Hills. While VCU hopes to get out in transition, the Zips look to ride the wave of their defensive powerhouse, shot-blocker Zeke Marshall.

The University of Akron men's basketball team is standing behind Alex Abreu as the point guard fights drug charges, including trafficking.

"You know, he didn't kill anybody and he didn't rape anybody," said Head Coach Keith Dambrot.  "He made a very poor decision and, hopefully, he can come back from that.  That's something we're going to work very hard on."

Abreu, 21, and Austin Durgala, 18, were arrested Thursday on drug charges, after police found both men at Durgala's residence along with more than five pounds of marijuana.  Dambrot suggests that fans and others not rush to judgment.

"He's a guy that's never been arrested," said Dambrot. "Obviously, young people make mistakes and make some bad decisions and wrong place, wrong time."

Dambrot was a guest on the 1590 WAKR Ray Horner Morning Show Monday morning:

Abreu, who is to referred by Dambrot as "a son," entered not guilty pleas Friday in Akron Municipal Court and was released from the Summit County Jail after posting $5,000 bond.

"It's our absolute obligation to stand by guys in good and in bad - that's a family member, so we're going to do everything we can to make sure we take care of him and his family."

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.

Chalk up 17 in a row for the national streak-leading University of Akron Zips men's basketball squad after a dominating 67-50 performance over Mid American Conference rival Bowling Green State University at the JAR Saturday night. The Zips remain undefeated in conference play and are 21-4 overall. The victory assures Keith Dambrot's team at least a second round seed in the MAC Tournament set for next month.

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(University of Akron athletics) Four players scored in double figures as the Akron men's basketball team extended the nation's longest winning streak to 17 games courtesy of a 67-50 win over Bowling Green on Saturday night at James A. Rhodes Arena.

Akron, 21-4 overall and 12-0 in Mid-American Conference play, tied the 1957-58 Miami (Ohio) RedHawks for the best start to league play in conference history. The Zips also extended their home and overall conference winning streaks to 13 games. Additionally, the victory earned UA at least the No. 2 seed in next month's MAC Tournament.

Akron remains one of seven undefeated teams nationally in league play this season.

Zeke Marshall led the Zips with 15 points on the night in addition to nine boards, three blocked shots, one assist and one steal. Alex Abreu (13), Nick Harney (13) and Brian Walsh (10) also scored in double figures.

Richaun Holmes led Bowling Green (10-15, 5-7 MAC) with 15 points.

Akron won despite shooting 36.5 percent (23-of-63) from the field and helped itself by making 82.6 percent of its attempts (19-of-23) at the foul line and out-rebounding the Falcons, 43-35. UA converted BGSU's 15 turnovers into 16 points, and 21 of the Zips' points came on second-chance opportunities.

Bowling Green shot just 32.8 percent (19-of-58) from the floor and did not connect on a field goal in the last 5 1/2 minutes of the game when the Zips used a 12-1 run to close out the win.

UA opened the game on an 11-1 run and held a 29-21 advantage at halftime.

The Zips face North Dakota State on Friday, Feb. 22, at 7 p.m. ET in the Ramada Worldwide BracketBusters game, set to air on ESPN2.

Zips Notebook: Zeke Marshall, the Zips' lone four-year senior, helped Akron to it's 90th win during his career ... this is the seventh senior class to win 90 games at Akron, the sixth under ninth-year head coach Keith Dambrot ... with his three blocked shots, Marshall moved into 10th place on the MAC's single-season blocked shots list (87).

On the Web:  University of Akron Sports  www.gozips.com