The University of Akron Athletics
University of Akron
27-9
No. 6 UT Arlington
27-8
Akron's Postseason Run Ends In NIT Second Round, UT Arlington Advances
March 20 | Men's Basketball
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BOX SCORE (PDF)Â |Â 2017 NIT BRACKETÂ |Â 2017 NIT POSTSEASON GUIDEÂ |Â GAME NOTES (PDF)Â
Arlington, Texas – The Akron Zips postseason run came to an end as the seventh-seeded Zips fell 85-69 to the No. 6 seed UT Arlington Mavericks in the second round of the National Invitation Tournament at UTA's College Park Center on Monday.
In front of the season's largest crowed (5,390) at the College Park Center, the Mavericks (27-8) established a 13-point, 39-26, lead in the first half. UTA shot 51.5 percent from the field (17-of-33), including a 30.8 percent performance from beyond the 3-point arc (4-of-13), while the Zips (27-9) seemed to be a little unsettled, shooting just 32.3 percent from the field (10-of-31) and 25 percent from deep (4-of-16) in the opening frame.
The Mavericks hot hand continued in the second half, as UTA nailed 3-of-5 from downtown and added two layups for a 22-point advantage, 52-30, before the under-16 media timeout. The Mavericks pushed the lead to as many as 31 points, 75-44, by the midway point en route to connecting with 55.2 percent of their shots from the floor (16-of-19) in the second half. UTA added a 50 percent effort from deep, burying eight 3-pointers and increasing the total to12 made 3-point buckets for the game for a 41.4 percent showing from long distance. UTA finished the game shooting 53.2 percent from the floor on 33-of-62 shots.
Six players scored in double figures for the Mavericks led by Kaelon Wilson's game-high 18-point effort. Kevin Hervey and Erick Neal followed with 13 points each, while Drew Charles notched 11 points. Jorge Bilbao and Nathan Hawkins added 10 points each.
For Akron, sophomore Jimond Ivey (Cleveland, Ohio) and senior Kwan Cheatham, Jr. (Cincinnati, Ohio) led the Zips' scoring efforts with 14 and 11 points, respectively. Both Ivey and Cheatham led Akron on the glass as well, ripping down eight rebounds apiece. Senior Isaiah Johnson (Cincinnati, Ohio) and sophomore Josh Williams (Akron, Ohio) added nine points each.
Akron showed a slight improvement in shooting the ball during the second half, but could never get the momentum to shift its way. The Zips added a 12-of-34 effort from the field and 6-of-19 performance from behind the 3-point arc to finish the game shooting 33.8 percent from the field (22-of-65) and 28.6 percent from long distance (10-of-35).
Both teams come up empty on first two possessions, but like most games Cheatham got the Zips' offense moving from deep. However, the Mavericks responded with a triple, and Hervey added two points in the paint for Mavs first lead, 5-3. UTA added two more layups to cap a 9-0 run and taking a 9-3 into the under-16 media break.
By the 15:41 mark Akron was only 1-of-6 from the floor and 1-of-4 from deep compared to the home team's 4-of-8 shooting and 1-of-3 from deep.
Akron regrouped as Johnson recorded his first two points of the game while streaking across the lane. Williams provided a spark off the bench by knocking down a triple, and Akron cut the lead to one point, 9-8.
However, UTA responded with an old-fashioned 3-point play and triple mixed with a few stops and layups for an 11-1 run and 20-9 lead.Â
Ivey ended the run by driving through the paint to break double-digits on the scoreboard for Akron, 20-11 with 10:58 to play in the first half. Over the next five minutes, the two team traded baskets, scoring 10 points apiece until Williams hit a step-back 3-pointer to cut the lead to six points, 30-24.
Again the Mavericks made a run, and this time nine unanswered points for their largest lead of the half, 39-24, with 1:11 remaining. Junior Noah Robotham (Las Vegas, Nev.) added the final two points of the half as Arlington led by 13 points at the break. Â
In the second half, the hot-hand continued for UT Arlington as the Mavericks pushed the lead to as many as 31 points before the final buzzer sounded.
Akron finished the season with the most wins in program history (27-9) en route to back-to-back Mid-American Conference regular-season championships. For Johnson and Cheatham, they finished their career with 95 wins which is tied for the third best class in program history – the 2010 class posted 97 wins and the 2009 class had 96 wins.Â
The National Invitation Tournament concludes the 2016-17 season.
