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Sophomore forward scores with 11 seconds to play
By Tom Gaffney
Beacon Journal sports writer
Published on Friday, Nov 07, 2008
The final score in an exhibition game is meaningless and quickly forgotten, which suited the University of Akron just fine Thursday night.
NCAA Division I teams are not supposed to lose to NAIA teams under any circumstances, but it almost happened at Rhodes Arena.
The Zips needed a basket by sophomore forward Brett McKnight with 11 seconds left to edge pesky Walsh University 83-81 in a preseason game before a crowd of 1,106 on UA's home floor.
''Walsh played really well; they know how to play and should probably have won,'' UA coach Keith Dambrot said about the Cavs, a perennial NAIA power. ''That being said, the tenets of our program were violated today. We broke the process. The process says we have to play well on the defensive end to win. We were worse than any team I have had here defensively.''
Walsh, which went 25-6 last season, shot 48.3 percent from the field, including 55.2 percent in the second half, and led 37-29 in rebounds.
''It was absolutely disappointing tonight,'' senior forward Nate Linhart said. ''To not meet any of our basic principles was inexcusable and obviously frustrating.''
The Zips led 79-73 with 4:28 remaining, before the Cavs went on an 8-0 run to take an 81-79 advantage with 1:43 left.
Linhart then tied it with a driving layup with 1:04 left. Walsh missed a shot on its possession, and the Zips got a rebound with 42 seconds left.
The Zips then ran the clock down and isolated McKnight in the low left block. He turned, ducked in and sank a 3-footer to put the Zips ahead 83-81.
Walsh saw its chance for an upset end when it broke down on offense and took a desperation 3-pointer from the left wing by Brandon Speck at the buzzer that rolled around the rim and fell off.
''They outhustled us and played better together,'' said Dambrot, whose team defeated Walsh 79-55 last season in its only exhibition game. ''We are not a very good basketball team right now. We have to figure out a way to win, regardless.''
Walsh's Lamar Skeeter, a sophomore guard from Dayton, hit 8-of-12 shots from the floor and 7-of-9 from the foul line to lead all scorers with 25 points. Senior Joe Shardo was 5-of-8 behind the 3-point arc for 17 points. Junior center Kyelce Cescato added 15 points and a game-high 11 rebounds.
Junior forward Chris McKnight led the Zips in points with 20 and in rebounds with seven. Linhart added 19 points, freshman point guard Ronnie Stewart had 12 points and sophomore center Mike Bardo had 10 points.
UA shot 46.3 percent from the field but only 40 percent in the second half.
The Zips open the regular season at home Nov. 15 against Canisius.
Tom Gaffney can be reached at tgaffney@thebeaconjournal.com.
The final score in an exhibition game is meaningless and quickly forgotten, which suited the University of Akron just fine Thursday night.
Get the full article here.
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