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Nine 3-pointers plus aggressive second-half defense equals victory
By Tom Gaffney
Beacon Journal sportswriter
Published on Thursday, Jan 31, 2008
Four consecutive unproductive and underachieving halves were quite enough for the University of Akron basketball team.
The Zips overwhelmed the University of Toledo with a wave of 3-pointers and defensive intensity in the final 20 minutes Wednesday night to defeat the Rockets 68-52 in a Mid-American Conference game at Rhodes Arena.
UA (15-5, 5-2) was outscored 50-34 in the second half of a loss at Kent State on Jan. 23 and did little of merit last Saturday in a 65-64 loss at Central Michigan.
That trend continued against the Rockets in the first half, when the Zips fell behind by 14 points (30-16) and trailed at the break 33-28.
However, UA put together a near-perfect second half by making nine 3-pointers and using a more aggressive defensive posture to outscore the Rockets 40-19.
The turnaround was not spurred by a stirring halftime speech by coach Keith Dambrot.
''I was calm at the half because I felt we were in a rut that every team goes through,'' said Dambrot, whose team stretched its home-court winning streak to 21 games. ''The lack of belief showed up. If you beat a dead horse, that's not a good thing.
''When a team is not playing well, you have to massage it. I tried to massage it.''
The gentler approach worked because the Zips dominated every possible phase of the game in the second half against a fatigued Rockets team (6-13, 3-4) that only plays seven players.
In that first half, the Zips shot 40.7 percent (11-of-27) from the floor, including 23.1 percent (3-of-13) from behind the arc. The second half saw those numbers increase to 55.6 percent (15-of-27) from the field and 60 percent (9-of-15) on 3-pointers.
That put the Zips in position to win, and the defensive stops ensured it.
Toledo shot 40.7 percent (11-of-27) from the floor in the first half, including 54.5 percent (6-of-11) from 3-pointers. In the second half, those same figures were 25 percent (5-of-20) and 28.6 percent (2-of-7).
''It was ridiculous how badly we were playing defense. That's what this program has been built on,'' said junior forward Nate Linhart, who had 13 points and a game-high nine rebounds. ''We stepped it up and did what we had to.''
Linhart, who played the entire 40 minutes, was one of the primary players responsible for holding Rockets star Tyrone Kent to three points, which was 15 below his average.
The Zips also put the clamps on the Rockets' second leading scorer, Jonathan Amos (12.9), holding him to eight.
The Zips won despite nagging injuries to Jeremiah Wood (five points) and Cedrick Middleton (three points) that limited their minutes and effectiveness, and an off night by Nick Dials (nine points on 3-of-10 shooting).
That left it to young players such as freshman Steve McNees (a team-high 16 points and 4-of-5 on 3-pointers), sophomore Darryl Roberts (12 points on 5-of-7 shooting), and freshman Mike Bardo (four blocks and four rebounds).
''The best thing about this game is that three of our four freshmen saved our behinds,'' Dambrot said. ''You can call Roberts a sophomore, but he is really a freshman. He will get his fourth year back. They all played great.''
The Zips trailed for the first 24 minutes until a 3-pointer by McNees moved them ahead 37-35 for the first time.
The Rockets moved back ahead 40-37, but that merely signaled a UA resurgence as 3-pointers by Quade Milum, Roberts, Dials and McNees sparked a 19-7 run that made it 56-47 with 8:35 left. Later, 3-pointers by McNees and Dials highlighted a clinching 10-0 spurt.
The Zips are home Saturday night against Eastern Michigan.
Tom Gaffney can be reached at tgaffney@thebeaconjournal.com.
Four consecutive unproductive and underachieving halves were quite enough for the University of Akron basketball team.
Get the full article here.
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