The University of Akron fought back from a nine-point halftime deficit to take the Western Michigan Broncos to overtime before claiming a 69-66 Mid-American Conference win Wednesday night at University Arena in Kalamazoo.
It was the Zips’ sixth consecutive victory.
Coach Keith Dambrot will take it, saying he liked the way his team played defense — especially in the second half — and that they kept their turnovers to under double digits for the game.
Alex Abreu led the Zips (17-7, 9-1 MAC) with 15 points, followed by junior center Zeke Marshall with 14 points. Guard Brian Walsh added 12.
The game won’t go down as one of the better ones the team has played despite the fact that the Broncos played as if they were gift-wrapping a win.
Western Michigan (10-14, 4-6) committed 16 turnovers, but the Zips didn’t take advantage.
Nor could they take control of the game because they didn’t have answers for the likes of Broncos guard Mike Douglas, who scored 15 points.
But when you boil it down, the Zips were their own worst enemy. The Broncos beat them on the boards 47-37, including a 15-12 advantage on offensive rebounds.
The Zips had little in the way of offensive flow, and they had to grind this one out to get the win. That fact showed in the final stats. The Zips shot 37 percent from the field and were just 3-for-20 from behind the 3-point arc.
“We didn’t shoot the ball particularly well,” Dambrot said.
Although Abreu led the team in scoring, Marshall was the only player to find any sort of consistency around the rim. His presence proved even more valuable with the game on the line in overtime.
“When he wasn’t in the game, we struggled,” Dambrot said of Marshall. “We’ve got to keep him in the game.”
Marshall blocked a shot that eventually found its way into the hands of forward Quincy Diggs for an easy layup and a 65-63 lead. Moments later, Diggs’ two free throws with 37 seconds left gave the Zips a 68-66 lead after the Broncos’ Nate Hutcherson had tied the score.
“He’s spent a lot of time working on [free throws],” Dambrot said.
The Zips might have been fortunate to escape Western Michigan with a win, but the fact remains that these are the types of games that good teams have to win in order to enjoy success down the road.
“I’ll take it,” Dambrot said.
The Zips play Northern Illinois at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at Rhodes Arena as part of a doubleheader with the women’s basketball team. The women tip off at 5 p.m.
